In 1844 Karl Marx stated, “the criticism of religion is the prerequisite of all criticism.” Over the following 150 years, the self-expressions of modernity seem to have been primarily engaged in carrying out Marx's injunction. It is important to note that this critique occurs both about religion and increasingly from within religion. The often overlooked self-critique occurs from within religious communities and thinkers seeking to locate a place for religion within the variations of modernity.

In the light of these moves, it has become noticeable over the past decade that an inter-textual hermeneutic is developing between cultural criticism and what could be broadly termed religious studies. In particular, cultural criticism and religion are increasingly underpinning debates of the politics of location and the self. These debates, however, have been primarily within the field of cultural criticism. It is fascinating and instructive to engage with secular critics using religious ideas, texts and metaphors (more specifically those from the Judeo-Christian narratives and tradition) to both underwrite and extrapolate their thesis. Little, however, has been attempted to replicate this trend within the Judeo-Christian source. Partly this state of affairs has been due to the type of language used. Historians, philosophers and those working in religious studies are prone to refer to the need to integrate Christianity with culture. From their perspective, theology often appears wary of allowing itself to be remade and rearticulated with the same degree of openness that cultural criticism shows to theological/religious tropes.