The concepts of the presence of religion in the public sphere of post-secular society. Between José Casanova’s sociology of religion and the social philosophy of Richard Rorty

Abstract

With the theory of secularisation crisis in the sociology of religion, the claim about the end of religion, or at least its radical privatization, is increasingly being denied. Therefore there is a need to work out a place for it in post-secular societies. The article presents and compares two radically different concepts of the religious activities in the public sphere. The first of these is the sociologist José Casanova’s proposal of deprivatization of religion, perceiving the benefits of its activity in the public sphere of post-secular societies. The second concept, the Richard Rorty’s privatizing of religion, sees in it primarily a threat to liberal freedoms. Therefore, the American philosopher proposes to remove religion from the public sphere and place it only in the private sphere of the individual. The text ends with the hypothesis explaining the huge contrast between the views of Casanova and Rorty, as to the presence of religion in the public sphere of post-secular societies.