Modern Religion, Modern Race

Rezensionen / Stimmen

"Theodore Vial's groundbreaking text on religion, race, and modernity is the most insightfully thought-out, clearly written, and invitingly compelling of all the recent publications on this subject. Clarity of argument represents clarity of thinking. And his, indeed, is a new voice in the field. He proves to us what we've all missed: the post-Kantian context and the decisiveness of language in how the West wedded race and religion."-Dwight N. Hopkins, author of Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion "Modern Religion, Modern Race is a smart, nuanced, and accessible study of the birth of the twin concepts of 'religion' and 'race' in the modern world. With historical sensitivity and philosophical acumen, Theodore Vial traces the simultaneous development of these two concepts and brings his analysis to bear upon the contemporary, and often violent, ways in which these ideas continue to shape our world. Readers have much to gain from this thoughtful study."-Leora Batnitzky, author of How Judaism Became a Religion: An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought "Theodore Vial has given us a wonderfully learned and rich treatment of race and religion in the German Idealist tradition. Long established as one of the leading Schleiermacher scholars in the English speaking world, Vial has done us an enormous service in this text. It not only brilliantly explains the thought of Schleiermacher, Herder, and Kant on race and religion, but he also gives us a beautiful genealogy that brings us to our present moment. His work complements and expands the seminal work of Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze and helps us see the racial architecture of modern religious studies. Yet what also commends this book is the clarity and precision with which Ted Vial writes. Generations of students will sing his praises for giving them a text that they will understand and remember."-Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale University