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Author:Moses Hess - Wikisource
I'm curious about this guy, who apparently (according to Michael Harrington) writes about so-called "atheistic Christians" in the same vein as Marx's remarks between the "spiritual" state and the "corporeal" civil and economic order. He was sort of the intellectual forefather of Zionism, supposedly.
Karl Marx, "On The Jewish Question (Zur Judenfrage)" (1843)
"Where the political state has attained its true development, man – not only in thought, in consciousness, but in reality, in life – leads a twofold life, a heavenly and an earthly life: life in the political community, in which he considers himself a communal being, and life in civil society, in which he acts as a private individual, regards other men as a means, degrades himself into a means, and becomes the plaything of alien powers. The relation of the political state to civil society is just as spiritual as the relations of heaven to earth. The political state stands in the same opposition to civil society, and it prevails over the latter in the same way as religion prevails over the narrowness of the secular world – i.e., by likewise having always to acknowledge it, to restore it, and allow itself to be dominated by it."
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Add Sticky NoteThe perfect political state is, by its nature, man’s species-life,
as opposed to his material life. All the preconditions of this egoistic
life continue to exist in
civil society
outside the sphere of the state,
but as qualities of civil society. Where the political state has attained
its true development, man – not only in thought, in consciousness, but
in reality, in life – leads a twofold life, a heavenly and an earthly
life: life in the political community, in which he considers himself a
communal being, and life in civil society, in which he acts as a private
individual, regards other men as a means, degrades himself into a means,
and becomes the plaything of alien powers. The relation of the political
state to civil society is just as spiritual as the relations of heaven
to earth. The political state stands in the same opposition to civil society,
and it prevails over the latter in the same way as religion prevails over
the narrowness of the secular world – i.e., by likewise having
always to acknowledge it, to restore it, and allow itself to be dominated
by it. In his most immediate reality, in civil society, man is a secular
being. Here, where he regards himself as a real individual, and is so regarded
by others, he is a fictitious phenomenon. In the state, on the other hand,
where man is regarded as a species-being, he is the imaginary member of
an illusory sovereignty, is deprived of his real individual life and endowed
with an unreal universality.- This is a crucial passage for Harrington in The Politics at God's Funeral (1983). - on 2009-10-21
Columbia UP series: Insurrections: Critical Studies in Religion, Politics, and Culture. Slavoj Zizek, Clayton Crockett, Creston Davis, Jeffrey W. Robbins, Editors
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The series will address a range of religious traditions and political viewpoints in the
Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan on Faith, Religion, Tolerance, Moderates, Bible, God, Islam, Atheism, Jesus, Christian Nation - Beliefnet.com
Archived: http://sqrl.it/?lb015 and http://www.webcitation.org/5jiUdtg5S
Jon Meacham, "The End of Christian America," Newsweek (April 13, 2009)
Webcite: http://www.webcitation.org/5gBpjnyJl
Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds - USATODAY.com
This article -- on the results of the new ARIS survey -- has attracted a fair amount of attention. I really ought to read it.
Peter Steinfels, "Scandinavian Nonbelievers, Which Is Not to Say Atheists [Beliefs]," The New York Times (Feb. 27, 2009)
Sociologist Phil Zuckerman tries to figure out what remains of traditional Christianity in the very secular societies of modern-day Denmark and Sweden. The answer seems to be, "not much," but there is a very strong moral sensibility nevertheless.
Losing the Yeti in Forgotten Nation of Bhutan | LiveScience
An interesting piece of research showing that traditional beliefs in the Yeti have been disappearing -- or, more precisely, are more and more often linked with backwardness and ignorance -- with modernization, even in relatively remote areas of Bhutan.
Robert Bellah, "The renouncers," The Immanent Frame (August 11, 2008)
Part of the "Is Critique Secular?" series.
Charles Taylor's rejection of secularism: how valid?
John Patrick Diggins (a brilliant scholar) reviews Taylor's "A Secular Age" for the NYTBR. He is courteous and respectful but ultimately fairly negative on Taylor's apparent dependence on neo-Hegelian "dialectical fantasies."
In Germany, "ex-Muslim" council forms to denounce Islam
In Germany, a group of non-religious immigrants from Muslims countries, sick of being classed as "Muslims" and being told that Muslim authorities speak for them, organize to form the "Central Council of Ex-Muslims." This is awkward for the government, wh
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