The Post-Secular in Question: Religion in Contemporary Society

Social Science Research Council Series

by Philip S. Gorski (Editor), David Kyuman Kim (Editor), John Torpey (Editor)

"A diverse but very stimulating collection." -- Robert Bellah, author of Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age The Post-Secular in Question considers whether there has in fact been a religious resurgence of global dimensions in recent decades. This collection of original essays by leading academics represents an interdisciplinary intervention in the continuing and ever-transforming discussion of the role of religion and secularism in today's world. Foregrounding the most urgent and compelling questions raised by the place of religion in the social sciences, past and present, The Post-Secular in Question restores religion to a more central place in social scientific thinking about the world, helping to move scholarship "beyond unbelief." Contributors: Courtney Bender, Craig Calhoun, Michele Dillon, Philip S. Gorski, Richard Madsen, Kathleen Mahoney, Tomoko Masuzawa, Eduardo Mendieta, John Schmalzbauer, James K. A. Smith, John Torpey, Bryan S. Turner, Hent de Vries.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy

375 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[versarbre]

Addressing the disciplinary question is super nice. Hoping there were more!

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essays seem to be intended mostly for social scientists and, thus, include works mostly by sociologists, although some of the contributors work in or intersect with other fields. Few writers in this collection are want to challenge the concept or terminology of the "post-secular"; in fact, most of them are pretty unitary in their definition of the term as a condition in which religion has persisted or, in fact, flourished when it was thought to disappear. Though the collection, in my opinion, doesn't fulfill its promise to "question" the post-secular, each piece makes a valuable contribution to the discourse surrounding the secular.