Afterword: Apologetics as a Seismograph of Social Change and an Arena of Secular-Religious Conflicts
Afterword: Apologetics as a Seismograph of Social Change and an Arena of Secular-Religious Conflicts
Coming from the perspective of historical sociology, the epilogue highlights some systematic features of apologetics as approached in the volume. First, apologetics serves as a seismograph of social change. Second, it expresses and constitutes a relation with an outer and inner opponent as well as with an audience. Third, it relates to different levels of society: to the meso-level of religious and irreligious groups and organizations, and to the micro-level of individuals as iconic figures in the defence of faith. On both levels, however, the ‘big picture’ is always evoked. Finally, apologetics is discussed with reference to the "Multiple Secularities"-approach as one of the arenas in which disputes about the place of religion and its limits are fought.
Keywords: social change, social relation, levels of society, social arena
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