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Troels Nørager, Taking Leave of Abraham: An Essay on Religion and Democracy (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2008), pp. 258, £26.95, ISBN 978-87-7934-412-9 (hbk).

Troels Nørager, Taking Leave of Abraham: An Essay on Religion and Democracy (Aarhus: Aarhus... As Troels Nørager describes it, we live in a world today where secularization and religious traditions often clash, where terrorists invoke the Abrahamic call to sacrifice in order to justify their atrocities and where cultures yet seemingly evolve ‘beyond’ their religious origins. In this sense, Nørager seeks an (often ignored or overlooked) interaction between political philosophy and the philosophy of religion, juxtaposing Kierkegaard’s reading of Genesis 22 (Abraham’s potential sacrifice of Isaac) with Rawls and Habermas on contemporary forms of democracy and political participation. This particular comparison is justified, we are told, by the focus given to the manner in which religion, like culture, can be said to evolve beyond its original context. Thus, moving quickly through a large cross-section of relevant scholarly debate and critique, Nørager develops a line of thought that elevates ‘public reason’ (Rawls) and ‘deliberative democracy’ (Habermas) over the authoritarian tendencies of religious traditions, being clear that believers today have indeed ‘evolved’ past Abrahamic conceptions of God, and with seemingly good reason. It is thus that we are asked to ‘take leave of Abraham’ and the violence that is done by all three monotheistic traditions in his name. We are not, he tells us http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Public Theology Brill

Troels Nørager, Taking Leave of Abraham: An Essay on Religion and Democracy (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2008), pp. 258, £26.95, ISBN 978-87-7934-412-9 (hbk).

Dickinson, Colby
International Journal of Public Theology , Volume 6 (2): 255 – Jan 1, 2012
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Book Reviews
ISSN
1872-5171
eISSN
1569-7320
DOI
10.1163/156973212X635127
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

As Troels Nørager describes it, we live in a world today where secularization and religious traditions often clash, where terrorists invoke the Abrahamic call to sacrifice in order to justify their atrocities and where cultures yet seemingly evolve ‘beyond’ their religious origins. In this sense, Nørager seeks an (often ignored or overlooked) interaction between political philosophy and the philosophy of religion, juxtaposing Kierkegaard’s reading of Genesis 22 (Abraham’s potential sacrifice of Isaac) with Rawls and Habermas on contemporary forms of democracy and political participation. This particular comparison is justified, we are told, by the focus given to the manner in which religion, like culture, can be said to evolve beyond its original context. Thus, moving quickly through a large cross-section of relevant scholarly debate and critique, Nørager develops a line of thought that elevates ‘public reason’ (Rawls) and ‘deliberative democracy’ (Habermas) over the authoritarian tendencies of religious traditions, being clear that believers today have indeed ‘evolved’ past Abrahamic conceptions of God, and with seemingly good reason. It is thus that we are asked to ‘take leave of Abraham’ and the violence that is done by all three monotheistic traditions in his name. We are not, he tells us

Journal

International Journal of Public Theology – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2012

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