Habermas and Theology

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An exploration of the theological reception and critique of Habermas' philosophy in the different phases of its engagement with religion.

Reviews

In this knowledgeable work, Junker-Kenny examines the turn to religion in Habermas' latest work calling for a process of mutual translation of religion and postsecular reason. She traces this back to his early engagement with religion and the later chastening of religion in discourse ethics. She lucidly presents the major philosophical objections to the founding concepts of Habermas' reasoning, welcoming the called-for alliance of theology and postsecular reason against the 'pathologies of modernity'. The book is a thorough systematic reconstruction and a groundbreaking source for the dialogue between theology and philosophy. -- Hille Haker, Loyola University Chicago, USA.
Ever since the pioneering Chicago symposium and 1992 collection of essays on Habermas and theology by Browning and Schssler Fiorenza, we have been waiting for a major interpretative work that bridges German and English language scholarship and debates on this leading European public intellectual. The time of waiting is now over. Maureen Junker-Kenny has written a finely grained interdisciplinary study of the highest order, expounding Habermas' thought with mastery and clarity and bringing it into fruitful conversation with her constructive theological concerns and criticisms. It could not be more timely. Here is the book to give the new global movement in public theology theoretical depth and conceptual rigour. I commend it to scholars and students alike in theology, philosophy, politics, and social theory, and to all who are concerned about the theological contribution in the Habermasian public sphere. -- William Storrar, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, USA.

Author Bio

Maureen Junker-Kenny is Associate Professor of Theology at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.