The Future of Political Theology Religious and Theological Perspectives

Recent shifts in the contemporary cultural, political, and religious landscape are engendering intensive attention concerning political theology. New trends and traditional ideas equally colour these movements. Given that a medley of recent books and articles have exhaustively treated both the history and the current resurgence of political theology, we now find ourselves faced with the task of reinventing and redefining the future of political theology. This book presents a rich overview of fresh, contemporary theoretical approaches uniquely prioritizing the prospects of the future of political theology, but also making room for significant interventions from philosophy and political theory. Including prominent essays on Judaic, Islamic, Buddhist and Christian perspectives, this book balances elements from post-modern theology with more classical as well as anti-post-modern approaches.

Foreword by Graham WardIntroduction Péter Losonczi, Mika Luoma-aho and Aakash Singh Part I The Past of Political Theology: Concepts and Challenges 1. The secular sphere in Western theology: a historical reconsideration Matthias Riedl2. Political theology and its discontents Michael Hoelzl3. 'How should we live?': nature, metaphysics, and political wisdom Andras Lanczi Part II Political Theology and the New Theological Trends 4. The interruption of political theology Lieven Boeve5. Is orthodoxy radical? Catherine Pickstock6. From first theology to political theology Péter Losonczi 7. Neither cosmopolis nor ghetto: religion and the intimate universal William Desmond Part III Contexts of Political Theology and Future Prospects 8. Political theories in Europe: a crossroads Kornel Zathureczky9. The spiral of violence and the non-violent power of Christ: a theological reading of the political philosophy of Istvan Bibo Andras Csepregi10. Family code and marriage laws in Iran Roja Fazaeli 11. The political theology of Navayana Buddhism Aakash Singh12. Millenarian development goals: commentary on the political theology of the Millennium Declaration Mika Luoma-aho BibliographyIndex

Péter Losonczi's fields of research were early modern and contemporary philosophy of religion, inter-religious dialogue, and postsecularism. His publications cover these areas and he was involved in several related research projects. He was editor of the book series Schnittpunkte/Intersections and Dialogos (L'Harmattan, Budapest), and a member of the editorial board of the journal Katekhón. His publications include Reflecting Diversity: Historical and Thematical perspectives in the Jewish and Christian Tradition (co-edited, 2007) and his forthcoming edited and authored books include: Religion, Philosophy, Theology: On the Idea of Interreligious Dialogue (authored,2009); Religio Academici: Religion, Scepticism, and the Pursuit of Knowledge (co-edited, 2009); Philosophy Begins in Wonder: An Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy, Theology, and Science (co-edited,2009). Mika Luoma-aho is in the editorial board in both of the two Finnish political science journals, Politiikka and Kosmopolis. His research interests include critical international relations theory, political conservatism, and Christian political symbolism. He has published several articles internationally on Carl Schmitt's political theory and theology, most recently in International Political Sociology (2009). He is also the responsible leader of a research project on the political theology and civil religion of Laestadianism, a Christian revival movement, also funded by the Academy (2010-2). Aakash Singh's scholarly interests range from comparative political philosophy to liberation theology. He is author/editor of several books, including: Eros Turannos (authored, 2005); a French edition/translation of Maulana Azad's India Wins Freedom (2006); Buddhism and the Contemporary World: An Ambedkarian Perspective (co-edited, 2007); Reading Hegel: The Introductions (co-edited, 2008). Forthcoming books include: Macaulay's Post-Modern Children: Post-Colonial Theory as Neo-Orientalism (authored); Indian Political Thought (co-edited); Hegel's India (co-edited); and, B. R. Ambedkar's The Buddha and His Dhamma: A Critical Edition (co-edited).