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3 Religion and the Dialectic of Enlightenment
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3 Religion and the Dialectic of Enlightenment William Maker Everybody might be just one big soul, it looks that way to me. —Woody Guthrie, “Tom Joad” But this August dignity I treat of, is not the dignity of kings and robes, but that abounding dignity which has no robed investiture. Thou shalt see it shining in the arm that wields a pick or drives a spike; that democratic dignity which, on all hands, radiates without end from God himself! The great God absolute! The center and circumference of all democracy! His omnipresence our divine equality! —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, or The Whale Freedom, just around the corner for you. But with truth so far off, what good will it do? —Bob Dylan, “Jokerman” 59 60 William Maker 1. Introduction The chapters of the Phenomenology which unfold the dialectic of the Enlightenment period are famous. However, rather than addressing them, I will be employing the notion of a dialectic of enlightenment in an expanded sense. First, I will indicate how the Phenomenology as a whole unfolds a larger, more comprehensive dialectic of enlightenment, one which is important for fully understanding Hegel’s views on spirit, religion, and religion’s role in the secular world and politics. Second, I will consider the tension in Hegel between a positive and a negative view of religion’s place in the political. In examining this, I will contend that modernity and religion are still entangled in an unresolved dialectic of enlightenment in that flawed Enlightenment models of subjectivity and freedom continue to dominate contemporary thought and society.1 My larger theme is that this persistence of the Enlightenment ultimately called Hegel—and should call us—to question his long-held hope that religion could play an ongoing positive role in actualizing secular freedom. Hegel’s philosophical conviction that religion could play such a role is an important feature of his understanding of the relation between religion and politics and is the specific aspect of his philosophy of religion I will address. This essay explores the tension between Hegel’s philosophical understanding of the fulfillment of religion in “consummate religion” and his evaluation of religion as he found it practiced in his day. The latter part of the essay examines some contemporary religious phenomena illustrative of certain features of the role of religion in politics, which also worried Hegel in his own time. I have concentrated on Hegel’s complex and nuanced views about the fulfillment of religion in the ethical world and its proper positioning in the arenas of politics and the state and have brought his relevant concerns to bear on some recent events.Thus, this chapter does not present a comprehensive consideration of his philosophy of religion nor of the multiple ways in which contemporary religions appear in the public square. I have offered a broader consideration of his philosophy of religion elsewhere.2 2. The Phenomenology as Dialectic of Enlightenment A definitive component of enlightenment in the broad sense is the insistence that no belief be accepted on faith, without prior justification. It demands that we reject dogmatism by looking critically at our beliefs to see whether they can have their truth demonstrated. As the introduction [3.238.86.122] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 07:32 GMT) 61 Religion and the Dialectic of Enlightenment to the Phenomenology makes clear, consciousness actualizes enlightenment in that its tripartite structure embodies what is needed to effect enlightenment demands. How? To renounce dogmatism by testing the truth of belief requires (1) a subjective belief about what is true, (2) an objective standard against which to measure and test the belief, and (3) a judge who compares the belief against the standard because both fall within its field of awareness. Since consciousness moves through its series of shapes by repeatedly comparing knowledge and standard, the Phenomenology as a whole articulates the endeavor of enlightenment. As we see however, consciousness confronts an insuperable problem as it strives to complete the project. To be successful, consciousness must get outside of its own subjective awareness to a God’s-eye view where it can compare its subjective notion of the truth with the objective standard as found outside itself, independently of the subjective knowing whose capacity to attain objectivity is under adjudication. But, to be consciousness’s knowing it must also remain within its subjective awareness. Thus, as absolute knowing shows, to attain this God-like state is to be simultaneously within and beyond consciousness. Consequently, the Phenomenology demonstrates...