Civil religion: a window into perennial themes of political philosophy
Abstract
What I propose to do in the following exposition is to begin by juxtaposing ten classic iterations of the idea of (what Rousseau dubbed) civil religion, stretching from St. Augustine to Nietzsche, in order to convey a sense of the ubiquity of the civil-religion idea across the Western canon.Footnote1 I will follow this with a brief account of why the idea remains philosophically important, and, finally, a statement of what I take to be its fatal theoretical weakness.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Religion and Society Interactions
Political Theology and Sovereignty
Study and Philosophy of Religion
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Intellectual History Review
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 13–27
- Publication date
- 2 January 2026
- Language
- EN