In this paper I discuss some fundamental ideas in Eric Voegelin's (1901-1985) critique of secular modernity in general and political liberalism in particular. His critique unapologetically proceeds from within the traditions of classical philosophical and Christian thought. For Voegelin, the latter's enduring legitimacy and critical potential derives from the perennial structure of human existence seen to consist in the "tension" between time and eternity, or the human and divine poles of (self-)consciousness. In contrast, political liberalism, along with other modern ideologies, all too often seeks to anticipate the "end of history" within time. However, the apparent "overcoming" of the unresolvable tension or "In-Betweenness" of human existence necessarily implies the deformation of religious symbols and a skewed view of what counts as "religious" in the first place. This leads me to consider some problems with the ensuing exclusion of religious arguments in secular-liberal politics. I argue that the self-constraint required from religious voices not only confirms Voegelin's analysis of the less benign sides of liberalism but dangerously undermines the very idea(s) of liberal democracy itself. Giving some attention to the work of John Locke, I finally discuss an important epistemological tenet - the idea of an independent source of rational deliberation - that is still driving much liberal political thought today.

Enthalten in:
Theologische Literaturzeitung; 2014/6 Monatsschrift für das gesamte Gebiet der Theologie und Religionswissenschaft (2014)

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Serie / Reihe: Theologische Literaturzeitung

Personen: Corrodi Katzenstein, Johannes

Schlagwörter: Ontologie Liberalismus Voegelin, Eric