Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Beyond Church and State
  • Cited by 32
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
March 2013
Print publication year:
2013
Online ISBN:
9781139199261
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139199261
Subjects:
Political Theory, Philosophy of Religion, Religion, Politics and International Relations
Information

Book description

Secularism is often imagined in Thomas Jefferson's words as 'a wall of separation between Church and State'. This book moves past that standard picture to argue that secularism is a process that reshapes both religion and politics. Borrowing a term from religious traditions, the book goes further to argue that this process should be understood as a process of conversion. Matthew Scherer studies Saint Augustine, John Locke, John Rawls, Henri Bergson and Stanley Cavell to present a more accurate picture of what secularism is, what it does, and how it can be reimagined to be more conducive to genuine democracy.

Reviews

‘A brilliant contribution to the study of secularity, offering a new perspective on what has become a tired debate about political-religious separation. In inviting readers to rethink secularism as a ‘religious’ conversion - as rooted in the past and yet ruptured from it - Matthew Scherer has written a thought-provoking book of great originality. Beyond Church and State is essential reading for anyone who wishes to engage in serious public discussion on the topic.’

Talal Asad - City University of New York, and author of Formations of the Secular

‘This important book insightfully and fruitfully rethinks both political theology and political theory by developing two generative ideas. The first idea is that the figure of ‘conversion’ is best understood not as a movement from one fixed identity to another but as a process of change in the ‘crystalline structure’ of life … The second idea is that ‘secularism’ is best understood not as a concept naming a clear and solid distinction between ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ but as a figure denoting a process of conversion … To reconceive both the trope of conversion and the meaning of secularism as a concept, Scherer offers illuminating readings of Augustine Bergson and Cavell, on the one hand, and of Locke and Rawls on the other … These readings are original, provocative, and compelling. They yield an incredibly suggestive intervention into contemporary debates. Few scholars approach political theology so creatively.’

George Shulman - New York University

'The past twenty-five years have witnessed an explosion of studies undermining philosophical and historical analyses that posit fixed distinctions between church and state resulting in a wholly secular ‘public reason’ … Scherer provides exciting and original reasons for this skepticism about secularity … Summing up: recommended.'

E. J. Eisenach Source: Choice

'This original book contributes to the debate about secularism as an ongoing process that delimits both religious and political life … [It] is an important book marked by profound creativity. Scholars working on secularism in all its disguises should welcome it as an important and imaginative contribution to the ongoing debate about the relationship between religion and politics in a world of deep pluralism.'

Lars Tønder Source: Perspectives on Politics

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents
References

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.