A THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL XLIV 2002 Published by the Protestant ...

TONY CARROLL SJ
gious power, by contrast, at least in the monotheistic traditions, is
based on the power of God and issues in the subjection of the will of
the individual to the will of the higher being known as God.
Problems with the theory of secularisation
This theory of secularisation is, so to speak, a cultural a priori with
which we operate when we think about the modern world. At least,
this was the case until recently. JosÈ Casanova in his book, Public
Religions in the Modern World, explains how this has changed in
the 1980ís and that now sociologists of religion seem to be as dismissive
of the theory as they were initially faithful to it. 4 There are
several reasons for this shift and here I†will simply outline two. The
first cause can be attributed to what we might call the end of modernity
thesis. The argument here runs as follows. The project of modernity
was amongst other things the search to shake off the domination
of the church and religious authorities from peoplesí lives. Kantís
call, ìto have the courage to think for oneselfî, is formulated specifically
in this context. Thus, one of the main aspects of the liberation
sought for in this project was precisely what the theory of secularisation
proclaims, namely, the autonomy of the subject to use his
or her reason for themselves according to general principles which
any reasonable person of whatever religious persuasion can admit to.
This, in short, was the basic reading of the Enlightenment that we
find in Kantís celebrated essay, ÑWas ist Aufkl‰rungì. However, with
the calling into question of the normative basis of this initial project
Locke are both theories of secular sovereignty based on different conceptions of the
subjugation of the will of the citizen to a sovereign. The Republican tradition understands
the subjection of the individual human will to the general will as the basis of
sovereignty. In this tradition everyone is considered to own power since they all play
a part in constituting the general will. The Liberal tradition understands the subjection
of the individual human will to the will of a sovereign as the legitimate basis of
sovereignty. Both are thus secular theories of subjection which constitute the legitimacy
of political power. Here the sovereign owns the political power and simply
claims legitimacy for this ownership from the allegiance of his subjects.
4 JosÈ Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World, Chicago, The University
of Chicago Press, 1994, pp. 11ñ39.
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