Radical Political Theology - (Insurrections: Critical Studies in Religion, Politics, and C) by Clayton Crockett (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the 1960s, the strict opposition between the religious and the secular began to break down, blurring the distinction between political philosophy and political theology. This collapse contributed to the decline of modern liberalism, which supported a neutral, value-free space for capitalism. It also deeply unsettled political, religious, and philosophical realms, forced to confront the conceptual stakes of a return to religion.

Gamely intervening in a contest that defies simple resolutions, Clayton Crockett conceives of the postmodern convergence of the secular and the religious as a basis for emancipatory political thought. Engaging themes of sovereignty, democracy, potentiality, law, and event from a religious and political point of view, Crockett articulates a theological vision that responds to our contemporary world and its theo-political realities. Specifically, he claims we should think about God and the state in terms of potentiality rather than sovereign power. Deploying new concepts, such as Slavoj Žižek's idea of parallax and Catherine Malabou's notion of plasticity, his argument engages with debates over the nature and status of religion, ideology, and messianism. Tangling with the work of Derrida, Deleuze, Spinoza, Antonio Negri, Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, John D. Caputo, and Catherine Keller, Crockett concludes with a reconsideration of democracy as a form of political thought and religious practice, underscoring its ties to modern liberal capitalism while also envisioning a more authentic democracy unconstrained by those ties.

Review Quotes

...this is a valuable work indeed that deserves a wide hearing in theological circles.--Daniel Liechty "Religion"

A tour de force that should be required reading for theologians, philosophers, and critical, political and economic theorists alike.--Brent A. R. Hege "Radical Philosophy"

Crockett... introduces his concept of radical political theology through an impressive analysis of its relation to the rise of the Religious Right. This capacity to intertwine the theoretical and the everyday is part of the promise of [his] thought...-- "Political Theology"

This is a thoughtful, clearly written and challenging book.-- "Philosophy in Review"

About the Author

Clayton Crockett is associate professor of philosophy and director of religious studies at the University of Central Arkansas. He is the author of Deleuze Beyond Badiou: Ontology, Multiplicity, and Event and Interstices of the Sublime: Theology and Psychoanalytic Theory, and is coeditor of Hegel and the Infinite: Religion, Politics, and the Dialectic.