Kierkegaard and Political Theology

“While everyone admits Kierkegaard’s greatness, our perception of the political dimension of his thought is mired in antagonisms: was he a proto-Fascist, a fundamentalist anti-democrat, a superb dialectical ironist ignoring social life and focusing on subjective experiences? Kierkegaard and Political Theology raises these debates to a new level. It is much more than yet another attempt to ‘reactualize’ Kierkegaard, to make him useful for our time. It refers to Kierkegaard as a privileged lens through which we can approach in a new way the antagonisms of our dangerous time. So it’s not just a volume for those who want to get a better grasp of Kierkegaard, but a must for all those who want to understand our own predicament.”


—Slavoj Žižek, Senior Researcher, Institute for Sociology and Philosophy, University of Ljubljana





“This volume will prove a worthy resource for any reader interested in exploring the political implications of Kierkegaard’s writings, as well as any reader who seeks, with a little help from Kierkegaard, to examine the theological dimensions of modern politics. With essays covering a wide range of topics and approaches, the book offers a helpful roundup of contemporary interest in political theology. It makes a compelling case that Kierkegaard, whatever he may have considered himself, was an eminently political thinker.”


—Noreen Khawaja, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Yale University





“Kierkegaard’s relation to social-political thought has always been a difficult one to negotiate. The collection Kierkegaard and Political Theology is a welcome attempt to tackle this issue. The work gathers some outstanding articles by leading scholars in the field of Kierkegaard studies. The authors fruitfully bring Kierkegaard into dialogue with contemporary theories of political thinking, while never losing sight of his religious commitments. In this way the profile of his own views comes out more clearly and a valuable case is made for Kierkegaard’s relevance today. This is an excellent collection that will be an important point of orientation for all future studies on the issue.”


—Jon Stewart, Visiting Scholar, Center for European Studies, Harvard University





“I once told someone that I was writing a book on Kierkegaard and politics and he responded: ‘That is going to be a short book.’ Thankfully, Kierkegaard and Political Theology is not short! With rigor and clarity, the contributors invite new directions in Kierkegaardian scholarship by attending to underexplored political ‘crumbs’ in his thought. This volume demonstrates that Kierkegaard’s concern with ‘the present age’ can continue to speak vibrantly to our own.”


—J. Aaron Simmons, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Furman University