True and False Enlightenment: German Scholars and the Discourse of Catholicism in the Nineteenth Century
This article reinterprets Catholic hostility toward the Enlightenment in the nineteenth century. Reading the efforts of German-Catholic scholars to distinguish "true" from "false" Enlightenment, it argues that this differentiation was part of a broader discourse of Catholicism th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The Catholic University of America Press
2011
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| In: |
The catholic historical review
Year: 2011, Volume: 97, Issue: 1, Pages: 24-45 |
| Further subjects: | B
Enlightenment
B German Catholics B Catholic revival B Catholic scholars B Postsecular |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This article reinterprets Catholic hostility toward the Enlightenment in the nineteenth century. Reading the efforts of German-Catholic scholars to distinguish "true" from "false" Enlightenment, it argues that this differentiation was part of a broader discourse of Catholicism through which Catholics sought to engage the modern world. More than merely an instance of co-opting a hegemonic terminology, laying claim to "true" Enlightenment helped scholars in three distinct ways: It legitimized their own scholarly praxis, served as a way of managing anxiety over Catholic involvement in the Enlightenment, and provided a framework for pinpointing Catholicism's cultural uniqueness. By reassessing Catholic hostility to one major tenet of modernity in this way, the article steps outside the "master narrative of secularization" and joins a growing tendency to approach religion from a postsecular perspective. |
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| ISSN: | 1534-0708 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The catholic historical review
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