Bloomsbury The Post-Secular Condition: Trans-Atlantic and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Contemporary Religion and Spirituality

This timely, open access book explores modern reactions to the social isolation, materialism and consumerism that have become key features of secular, Western societies. Religions, and Christianity in particular, do not play an obvious part in society anymore as the immediate provider of values and aims. However, there exists a post-secular reaction to this: a longing for meaningful values in the face of community fragmentation. Here, Henriksen and Nelson lead established scholars from a variety of disciplines in analysing this post-secular layer of society. From sociology and philosophy to Africana and religious studies, this work presents a comprehensive look at this emerging synthesis between spiritual enquiry and secular ideals. The post-secular is not be understood as a triumphalist return of religion but rather as an opportunity to understand the recent terms and conditions for religion and spirituality. Thus, the secular and the post-secular are revealed to be in tension, but also conditioning each other. Bursting with intellectual acuity and sensitivity, this is an essential volume for anybody seeking to understand religion’s changing role in modern society. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Lilly Endowment, in the Early Career Pastoral Leadership Development Initiative, based at Wabash College.