Expressions, Mediations, and Exclusions in Post-secular Societies: Introduction

Abstract

Modernist theories of development and democratization predicted that secularization would lead to the disappearance of religion. This has not happened. But contemporary democratic states are secular and define religion as a private matter. At the same time, a politics of recognizing religiosity is deeply rooted in the modern state, and it is obvious that intangible values play an important role and have a valid claim to public spaces. On the metaphorical agora, the square that constitutes the middle ground between the cathedral and the parliament, commitment born in the cathedral is transformed into rational arguments that can be presented in parliament. But who governs the square? Do spiritual values need a public defence? Can or should all religious commitments and expressions be transformed into profane arguments? How could public spaces be designed and maintained to promote peaceful mediations between profane, sacred and other principled commitments? By assembling artistic and academic thinkers who do not confine themselves to intellectual analysis, but demand our involvement and our realization that we are part of the processes we are considering, this Focus contributes to a discussion of religiosity and public spaces in post-secular societies.

Revitalisation of Korean New Religions in the 1970s

“…Neo-Confucianism's reliance on rationality undermined its appeal as a state religion and the reactionary turn by the people was instead to more spiritual religions, rather than to secular practices as in the West. The Neo-Confucian rationalism, which rejected supernatural beings, could not 'fully satisfy' the religious needs of the common people [4]; this suggests that existential reflection and the desire to belong to something beyond the self is fundamental to the human condition [9].…”

“…In other words, as the new religions frequently shared their impetus for being with the roots of industrialisation, industrialisation did not reduce the influence of religion in the Korean context, but instead gave rise to a large populace that desired religion and increased social confidence in it. Grinell and Strandberg (2012) have argued that aesthetic, symbolic and religious experiences need to be recognised as non-reducible aspects of the human condition, since religious experience and meaning cannot be judged by reason or science [9]. The revival and growth of new religions in 1970s Korean society can be understood in this context.…”