Acknowledgments; Introduction: beyond the separation of church and state: secularism as conversion; 1. The authorized narrative and crystalline structure of conversion in Augustine's Confessions; 2. Toleration and conversion in Locke's letters: it is 'above all things necessary to distinguish'; 3. The crystalline structure of conversion: Henri Bergson's Two Sources; 4. Saint John (Rawls), the miracle of secular reason; 5. The wish for a better life: Stanley Cavell's critique of the social contract; Conclusion: from Supernovas into The Deep: secularism as conversion, a conversion of secularism; Index.
Beyond Church and State argues that secularism is a process that transforms the interrelated fields of religion and politics.
Matthew Scherer is Assistant Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University.
'A brilliant contribution to the study of secularity, offering a
new perspective on what has become a tired debate about
political-religious separation. In inviting readers to rethink
secularism as a 'religious' conversion - as rooted in the past and
yet ruptured from it - Matthew Scherer has written a
thought-provoking book of great originality. Beyond Church and
State is essential reading for anyone who wishes to engage in
serious public discussion on the topic.' Talal Asad, City
University of New York, and author of Formations of the Secular
'This important book insightfully and fruitfully rethinks both
political theology and political theory by developing two
generative ideas. The first idea is that the figure of 'conversion'
is best understood not as a movement from one fixed identity to
another but as a process of change in the 'crystalline structure'
of life … The second idea is that 'secularism' is best understood
not as a concept naming a clear and solid distinction between
'religion' and 'politics' but as a figure denoting a process of
conversion … To reconceive both the trope of conversion and the
meaning of secularism as a concept, Scherer offers illuminating
readings of Augustine Bergson and Cavell, on the one hand, and of
Locke and Rawls on the other … These readings are original,
provocative, and compelling. They yield an incredibly suggestive
intervention into contemporary debates. Few scholars approach
political theology so creatively.' George Shulman, New York
University
'The past twenty-five years have witnessed an explosion of studies
undermining philosophical and historical analyses that posit fixed
distinctions between church and state resulting in a wholly secular
'public reason' … Scherer provides exciting and original reasons
for this skepticism about secularity … Summing up: recommended.' E.
J. Eisenach, Choice
'This original book contributes to the debate about secularism as
an ongoing process that delimits both religious and political life
… [It] is an important book marked by profound creativity. Scholars
working on secularism in all its disguises should welcome it as an
important and imaginative contribution to the ongoing debate about
the relationship between religion and politics in a world of deep
pluralism.' Lars Tønder, Perspectives on Politics
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