Philippine E-Journals

JÜRGEN HABERMAS ON THE VALUE OF RELIGION

Angelo Nicolaides

Discipline: Social Studies

 

Abstract:

Civilization is now more than ever bombarded with the rapid innovation and technological development of all nations, which threatens to dislodge religious and moral traditions. Jürgen Habermas, a staunch defender of

Critical Theory, has a very distinct philosophical position that theology is bound to come to grips with it. Theologians would argue that moral life with its wide range of exclusions and virtues is of necessity grounded in a God, who is a transcendent entity. Failing such grounding, humanity is susceptible to secular relativism that, by its very nature, weakens the moral fabric of society. What is the role of religion in postmodernist society?

This article is a critical meta-analysis of what Habermas has to say on the matter. This article thus provides a critique of Habermas’s views on religion and the role of religion particularly in the public sphere. It is noticeable that Habermas has a different view with Immanuel Kant in that religion is not philosophical in nature, but rather involves a very unique and private matter of faith in a God.