A Difference in Kind? Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor on Post-secularism

Abstract

In this essay I examine the debate between Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor on the post-secular state. I argue that, although their views on the relation of religion and politics converge in certain respects, a profound difference remains between their overall approaches. Their disagreement on the epistemic status of religious as opposed to secular moral reasons, and on the role religious arguments can play in the public sphere testify to a deeper schism. Thus what might at first seem like a quarrel about details proves to be a fundamental philosophical divide on the issue of modernity. I conclude that Taylor’s model of post-secularism is more promising as an approach to the challenge posed by growing religious and cultural diversity, for, if understood as a version of “reiterative universalism,” it avoids both moral relativism and Eurocentrism.     

Karl Barth and Jürgen Habermas: Transcendental aporias of Global Civil Society

Abstract

Currently, religion and globalization seem to be working towards opposite ends. As Mark Juergensmeyer has noted, while religiously invoked terrorism fragments society, the Internet, cell phones and the media industry foster the formation of an increasingly global social fabric. But religion is not a single faceted phenomenon. As much as there are prophets of violence such as Osama bin Laden, there are prophets of peace and reconciliation such as Bishop Desmond Tutu. How a civil society might be configured in relation to the inherent ambiguity surrounding religious traditions remains difficult to discern. How might Christian traditions make a positive contribution to this context? To answer this question I will articulate a dialogue between Jürgen Habermas's theory of civil society and the politico-ethical theology of Karl Barth.     

Alvis,J. David,Jeremy D. Bailey,and F. Flagg Taylor,IV. The Contested Removal Power, 1789–2010.

Abstract

In this article, we use legislative correspondence to determine who gains access to key staffers in a congressional office. To evaluate our theory of the office power hierarchy, we test hypotheses using an original dataset of more than 3,000 correspondence records from the office of former member of Congress James R. Jones. Our empirical analysis is supplemented by an e-mail interview with Representative Jones. We find that key senior staffers are more likely to pay attention to powerful individuals and nonroutine matters. Letters from women and families and those dealing with routine legislation are more likely to be answered by lower-ranked staffers. These results are important because they reveal that even something as simple as constituent correspondence enters a type of power hierarchy within the legislative branch where some individuals are advantaged over others.     

Power of Religion in Rural Areas and Its Public Service （Ⅲ）——An Analysis of Cases in Five Villages

religious authority is satisfying the spiritual needs of villagers by conducting various kinds of public service activities. In essence, this is filled with idealism.But what could not be denied is the fact that they provide “cultural support” which is positive in nature. But, how does this work？     

Power of Religion in Rural Areas and Its Public Service （Ⅱ） ——An Analysis of Cases in Five Villages

In rural areas in Tibet where religion believers occupy a very high proportion of the population, religious service can also be included into the scope of public services, because it is not only related to local social stability, but also bound up with the quality of life (such as a sense of happiness and the perceived meaning of life) in the view of local people. Investigation in five villages shows how in the rural areas in Tibet, various religious authorities provide such services.     

Power of Religion in Rural Areas and Its Public Service （I）——An Analysis of Cases in Five Villages

In the study of socio-economic development in Tibet, one tends to stress the role of non-economic elements, especially the role of humans and social background.Of these, the role of religious culture is regarded as the most important. However, there are basically two approaches to the issue: First of all, although religion exerts a varied role on economic growth, legal construction, public welfare and ethics, one tends to each only a general judgment. Secondly, study of the role played by religion focused on the religious doctrines held by monks, and monks themselves. Although many point out the fact that religious power over people varies, it roots in the rural areas and among the folk at large is still neglected.Hence, there is the need to study individual cases.     

The idea of peace in the West, 500–1150

Most of the numerous peace traditions of the early middle ages developed within a framework of three dimensions: monastic, ecclesiastical, imperial. But after 1150 the equilibrium among these three views of peace became upset. The pax ecclesiae and the imperial peace were channeled into papal jurisdiction and the public peace of the lay powers. The monastic peace began to lose its influence upon society at large.     

‘The Toynbee Convector’: The Rise and Fall of Arnold J. Toynbee's Anti-Imperial Mission to the West

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the historian and internationalist Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) conducted a highly public campaign against Western imperialism, arguing that the West needed to acknowledge and atone for its aggression if the world was to find peace. His efforts met with considerable resistance, damaging his reputation as a scholar and a political thinker. This article examines the origins of Toynbee's anti-imperialism in his philosophy of history, his public arguments of the postwar period, and the reaction they provoked.