Polarization of the anti-Islam film debate: Undoing the Arab Spring? Part One

Over the last few days, international news coverage has been largely dominated by reports on protests across the world against a film that protestors claim is a direct insult to the prophet Muhammed.  The protests started with the storming of the American embassy in Cairo as well as a violent attack on the American consulate …

Religie & Verkiezingen: vooronderstellingen en gevolgen

Hoewel religie nauwelijks een rol heeft gespeeld bij de afgelopen verkiezingen, zullen de gevolgen van de uitslag voelbaar zijn voor personen met een bepaalde religieuze achtergrond. Eén ding lijkt namelijk zeker: deze verkiezingsuitslag betekent het einde van de weigerambtenaar. Want hoewel de VVD en de PvdA op veel punten ver uit elkaar liggen, zijn deze …

Religious Humanitarianism in a Neoliberal Age

Guest contributor Cecelia Lynch explores how neoliberalism, a phenomenon closely connected with the rise of the post-secular, is affecting the language and practice of religious humanitarian organizations. Part of my current work involves interviewing representatives from various humanitarian organizations, religious and secular, on the place of religion in contemporary development and humanitarian aid work. Invariably, …

Experiments with the Post-Secular Part II

Following on from Part One, which discussed the post-secular as a description of 21st century society, Part Two explores the post-secular as a prescription for public life in the 21st century. Jurgen Habermas offers us perhaps the most comprehensive outline of the post-secular as a prescription. His main objective, it seems to me, is to …

Reason, Reflection, Resistance, Revolution? Experiments with the Post-Secular Part I

The Religion Factor is self-consciously a post-secular blog. But what exactly is post-secular? In our first two installments, we explore this relatively new idea as both a description of and a response to the conditions of 21st century society. The contemporary world is in crisis. Multiple financial meltdowns, widespread food shortages and impending environmental catastrophes …