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The Force of God: Toward a New Relationship Between Democracy and Religious Imaginaries

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The Force of God: Toward a New Relationship Between Democracy and Religious Imaginaries METAMORPHOSES of Chrisanity in Literature, Art and Philosophy Willie van der Merwe and Laurens ten Kate invite you to the twel/h Metamorphoses-seminar: The Force of God: Toward a New Relationship between Democracy and Religious Imaginaries A Seminar with Carl Raschke and Kurt Appel • Information and Program: see other side • 1st of December 2015, 10:00 -17:00 • Venue: University of Humanistic Studies Kromme Nieuwegracht 29, Utrecht. Room 1.15 • Participation is free but limited • Please register to: [email protected] The project Metamorphoses… Carl A. Raschke (le6) is professor of Religious • is an ini0a0ve of Willie van der Merwe (professor of Studies at the University of Denver. He is Philosophy of Religion, VU University Amsterdam) and of specialized in conCnental philosophy and the Laurens ten Kate (professor of Liberal Religion and theory of religion. He is an internaonally known Humanism, University of Humanis0c Studies Utrecht) writer and academic on ChrisCanity, globalizaon, • a ims to offer an interdisciplinary research context for world religions and contemporary art. philosophers, theologians, art historians and literary Kurt Appel is professor of systemac and theorists fundamental theology at the University of Vienna, • aims to enter a dialogue with contemporary ar0sts and and director of the Research plaorm ‘Religion and writers Transformaon in Contemporary European • b y establishing a plaKorm for explora0on and crea0on Society’. His research focuses on the social-poliCcal • in a series of seminars, debates, lectures and meaning of theology and on the development of a performances new humanism. English spoken The background to and inspiraon of this twel6h Metamorphoses seminar will be Carl Raschke’s recent book, The Force of God: Poli0cal Theology and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy (Columbia University Press 2015). Raschke Ces democracy’s retreat to the West’s failure to confront its decadence and mobilize its vast spiritual resources. Drawing on the thought of Hegel and Nietzsche as well as recent work by Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Joseph Goux, Giorgio Agamben, and Alain Badiou, Raschke aims to recast a poliCcal theology for the 21st century, grounded in a powerful, hidden impetus that Raschke coins as the ‘force of God’. This enables him to frame a new value economy and a criCcal theory that acknowledges a vital, spiritually grounded relaonship between poliCcs and the religious imaginaries of determining our past and present. StarCng from the themes and criCque developed in the book as presented and discussed by the author in his opening lecture, Kurt Appel in his lecture will engage in a broader analysis of the mutual metamorphoses between religion and present day democrac sociees. A6er both lectures there will be ample room for exchange, discussion and exploraon of the possibility for future collaboraon. Program 10:00 - 10:15 Welcome (Coffee, Tea) 10:15 – 10:30: IntroducCon by Willie van der Merwe and Laurens ten Kate 11:00 – 13.00: The Force of God, presentaon of the book by Carl Raschke, followed by discussion 13.00 – 14:00: Lunch 14:00 – 15:30 Religion and the Metamorphoses of Society, by Kurt Appel, followed by discussion 15:30 – 15:45: Coffee/tea 15:45 – 17:00: Conclusions and perspecCves for future collaboraon. This Metamorphoses-seminar has been organized with the financial support of the VU Research Instute CLUE+ .
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