Show Bookstore Categories

The Frankfurt School and the Dialectics of Religion

Translating Critical Faith into Critical Theory

ByDustin J. Byrd

Usually printed in 3 - 5 business days
In his book, The Frankfurt School and the Dialectics of Religion: Translating Critical Faith into Critical Theory, Dustin J. Byrd argues that at the core of the Frankfurt School’s Critical Theory resides a secularized theology. Unlike their predecessors, especially Feuerbach, Marx, Lenin, Freud, and Nietzsche, who argued for an abstract negation of religion, the first generation of Critical Theorists followed Hegel’s logic and attempted to rescue and preserve the revolutionary, emancipatory, and liberational aspects of religion in their own secular non-conformist philosophy. They saw in both Judaism and Christianity certain conceptual and semantic elements that could be enlisted into their struggle for a future reconciled society, one beyond the slaughterbench of history. In order to rescue religion, theological concepts had to go through a process of translation, wherein such materials migrate from the depth of the religious mythos into publicly accessible reasoning, thus making the revolutionary impulse of prophetic religion accessible to the secular world. Byrd also argues that this translation of religion remains relevant to today’s post-secular societies, especially in regard to religious Muslims attempting to find their place in Western countries, which are often hostile to religion and religiosity. Examining the strengths and weaknesses of Habermas’ “translation proviso,” he argues that both religious and secular citizens of the West can learn from the Frankfurt School’s dialectical approach to religion in order to find a space wherein both religious faith and secular reason can not only co-exist, but can also join together in the process of creating a more reconciled future society.

Details

Publication Date
Aug 14, 2020
Language
English
ISBN
9781735057620
Category
Social Science
Copyright
All Rights Reserved - Standard Copyright License
Contributors
By (author): Dustin J. Byrd

Specifications

Pages
340
Binding
Perfect Bound
Interior Color
Black & White
Dimensions
US Trade (6 x 9 in / 152 x 229 mm)

Ratings & Reviews