enlightenment-decapitation-of-god
Voegelin's metaphor for the Enlightenment's removal of God from political life, which paradoxically results in the elevation of human political constructs to divine status.
1 chapter across 1 book
The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction (2016)Mark Lilla
This chapter explores Eric Voegelin's intellectual journey and his critique of modern political ideologies as 'political religions' that arise from the secularization and divinization of political order following the Enlightenment. Voegelin traces the historical relationship between religion and politics from ancient civilizations through Christianity to modernity, arguing that the removal of divine authority from politics leads to totalitarian ideologies that mimic religious structures. His work reflects a deep engagement with the crisis of Western civilization and the need to understand the spiritual underpinnings of political order.