Secularity and Differentiation in Late Antiquity. The Case of Augustine of Hippo
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Kai Preuß
Abstract
Although “secularity” is often regarded as a feature of modern society, historians of Late Antiquity make frequent use of the concept to describe the religious struggles in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, during which religiously neutral spaces were created and contested. In this period, the idea of suspending religious judgment seems to have been implicit in a certain variety of Christian thought, with Augustine of Hippo as its most prominent representative. Given that Augustine is also a famous advocate of state-supported religious coercion, he makes the ideal point of departure for an investigation into both the possibilities and the limits of “secularity” in Late Antiquity. Employing differentiation theory, this paper seeks to reconcile the multiple understandings of “secularity” currently circulating in research. This reconciliation will allow us to see the emergence of a secular perspective as the result of a specific (and temporary) configuration of religious and non-religious spheres in Late Antique society. The paper examines a selection of Augustine’s letters, interpreting them as a reaction to the societal differentiation occurring in his time. Finally, it shows how the secularity emerging here is compatible with the appropriation of state power for religious ends. The paper distinguishes between religion’s self-differentiation and the kind of secularization that might go with it, on the one hand, and the institutional prerequisites necessary to bring about certain effects generally associated with a secular society, on the other.
Abstract
Although “secularity” is often regarded as a feature of modern society, historians of Late Antiquity make frequent use of the concept to describe the religious struggles in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, during which religiously neutral spaces were created and contested. In this period, the idea of suspending religious judgment seems to have been implicit in a certain variety of Christian thought, with Augustine of Hippo as its most prominent representative. Given that Augustine is also a famous advocate of state-supported religious coercion, he makes the ideal point of departure for an investigation into both the possibilities and the limits of “secularity” in Late Antiquity. Employing differentiation theory, this paper seeks to reconcile the multiple understandings of “secularity” currently circulating in research. This reconciliation will allow us to see the emergence of a secular perspective as the result of a specific (and temporary) configuration of religious and non-religious spheres in Late Antique society. The paper examines a selection of Augustine’s letters, interpreting them as a reaction to the societal differentiation occurring in his time. Finally, it shows how the secularity emerging here is compatible with the appropriation of state power for religious ends. The paper distinguishes between religion’s self-differentiation and the kind of secularization that might go with it, on the one hand, and the institutional prerequisites necessary to bring about certain effects generally associated with a secular society, on the other.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
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Part I Premodern Boundary Negotiations: Self-Distinctions of the Religious Sphere
- Dynamics of Differentiation from Charlemagne to Dante. Medieval Christian Debates on Religion and Politics beyond the Model of a “Separation of Church and State” 15
- Secularity and Differentiation in Late Antiquity. The Case of Augustine of Hippo 51
- Monasticism, Differentiation and Secularization: Talcott Parsons and the Catholic ‘Monastic Movement’ in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 79
- Negotiating the Boundaries between Religion and Science in the Abbasid Empire 105
- Religious and Secular in Premodern Islam and Christianity 125
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Part II Colonial Boundaries: Religion, Culture, and “Middle Things”
- King, Messiah, and Culture in the Making of Zulu Secularity 157
- The “Middle Things”. Differentiating between the Religious Spheres in Indian and African Mission Contexts in the Nineteenth Century 189
- Beyond Non-Catholic/Catholic (Luong/Giao) Separation: Missionary Expansion and Divergent Manifestations of Religious Differentiation in Colonial Vietnam 213
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Part III Competing Epistemes: Lessons Learned From Asia
- The Autonomy of Science vis-a-vis Religion: Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome as a Theoretical Counter-Narrative to the Western Master Narrative of Functional Differentiation 239
- Global Translations: Conceptualizing Differentiations Between ‘Religion’ and ‘Science’ in Thailand and the Philippines in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 271
- Demarcating Religion: On the Varying Ways of Conceptualizing Social Differentiation in Japanese History 301
- Rethinking the Place of Religion and Worldviews in Differentiation Theory: A Historical Comparison between Chinese and European Societies 329
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Part IV Programmatic Proposals: Differentiation Theory and the Sociology of Religion and Secularity
- The Fragmentation of the Sacred: An Alternative Narrative of Western Modernity 359
- Rigid Differentiation Theory and Flexible Sociology of Religion? 379
- After Autonomy. Relationships between Art and Religion in Nineteenth Century Germany and their Implications for Differentiation Theory 407
- Beyond Normative Binaries: Neutral Zones as Precursors and Starting Points of Secularity 437
- The Authors 467
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Premodern Boundary Negotiations: Self-Distinctions of the Religious Sphere
- Dynamics of Differentiation from Charlemagne to Dante. Medieval Christian Debates on Religion and Politics beyond the Model of a “Separation of Church and State” 15
- Secularity and Differentiation in Late Antiquity. The Case of Augustine of Hippo 51
- Monasticism, Differentiation and Secularization: Talcott Parsons and the Catholic ‘Monastic Movement’ in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 79
- Negotiating the Boundaries between Religion and Science in the Abbasid Empire 105
- Religious and Secular in Premodern Islam and Christianity 125
-
Part II Colonial Boundaries: Religion, Culture, and “Middle Things”
- King, Messiah, and Culture in the Making of Zulu Secularity 157
- The “Middle Things”. Differentiating between the Religious Spheres in Indian and African Mission Contexts in the Nineteenth Century 189
- Beyond Non-Catholic/Catholic (Luong/Giao) Separation: Missionary Expansion and Divergent Manifestations of Religious Differentiation in Colonial Vietnam 213
-
Part III Competing Epistemes: Lessons Learned From Asia
- The Autonomy of Science vis-a-vis Religion: Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome as a Theoretical Counter-Narrative to the Western Master Narrative of Functional Differentiation 239
- Global Translations: Conceptualizing Differentiations Between ‘Religion’ and ‘Science’ in Thailand and the Philippines in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 271
- Demarcating Religion: On the Varying Ways of Conceptualizing Social Differentiation in Japanese History 301
- Rethinking the Place of Religion and Worldviews in Differentiation Theory: A Historical Comparison between Chinese and European Societies 329
-
Part IV Programmatic Proposals: Differentiation Theory and the Sociology of Religion and Secularity
- The Fragmentation of the Sacred: An Alternative Narrative of Western Modernity 359
- Rigid Differentiation Theory and Flexible Sociology of Religion? 379
- After Autonomy. Relationships between Art and Religion in Nineteenth Century Germany and their Implications for Differentiation Theory 407
- Beyond Normative Binaries: Neutral Zones as Precursors and Starting Points of Secularity 437
- The Authors 467
