After so much pondering on terminology, let me add that not every reference to secular/religious parallelisms is to be found under the label of “political theology”, “political religion”, or “secular religion”. Many authors are more inventive than that. “Laicized mysticism”, “secularized eschatology”, “immanentization of the eschaton”, “secularized version of sectarian perfectionism” and many others are also on the menu. And let us not forget more value-burdened terms like “quasi-religion”, “pseudo-religion”, “ersatz religion”, and “Religionsersatz” (the last two are not necessarily the same). My greater sympathy, however, is with those works that don’t attempt to separate one sort of (secular, political, laicized, immanent, quasi, pseudo, ersatz and who knows what other non-religious) religions from real ones, but call all these RELIGIONS without an adjective.
Provided, of course, that one has to speak of religions at all. This is what I’m not entirely convinced of. But to explain my aversions I’ll have to say a few words on the definition of religion later on. Until then, for those who speak Hungarian, I will also tackle the terminological issues at an online discussion next Wednesday.
https://pak.uni-nke.hu/hirek/2020/04/17/intezeti-muhelybeszelgetes
