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Religions
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Post-Secularism: Society, Politics, Theology
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Post-Secularism: Society, Politics, Theology

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Theologies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 5170

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. András Máté-Tóth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Szeged, 6722 Szeged, Hungary
Interests: civil religiosity; secularisation in Central-Eastern Europe; religious communication; religious pluralism
Dr. George Joseph Vellankal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, Ranchi 835 303, India
Interests: philosophical foundations of social ethics; catholic social teaching; jusrisprudential debates on natural law and legal positivism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The term "post-secular" is frequently encountered in the social sciences and the theological literature alongside the dialogical relevance it has within the public discourse. Given the inability of various scholarly authorities to reach consensus on a unified definition of the term secularisation in recent decades, it is not plausible that the term post-secularism will emerge as a concept that can serve as a reliable point of reference for the interpretation of a myriad of contemporary social and religious phenomena.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the exploration of this very diversity, and we warmly welcome theoretical studies and case studies that elucidate the authors' positions on the concept of post-secularism and its nuances, as well as studies that shed light on the theoretical connections and contemporary social and religious experiences that lend support to or refute the relevance of the term.

In a manner analogous to the emergence of the concept of secularisation within the socio-cultural context of the North Atlantic region, and subsequently adopted in other regions across the world, the category of post-secularism also transcends the limits of particular cultural spheres and has the potential to be relevant in cultural milieus worldwide. We particularly welcome studies by the authors who analyse and interpret processes and phenomena outside the Western cultural sphere.

According to one of the most widespread understanding of the term post-secularism, religion is returning to the public sphere in parallel to the decline of personal religiosity in the private sphere. Although a preliminary perception of the systems of public religion suggest an affiliation with religious symbolism or political references, a more thorough investigation reveals that these references are possible also without being connected to particular religious traditions. Those who hold a positive or negative attitude towards systems of public religious symbols may not necessarily be responding to the religious aspects themselves, but rather to the cultural and political interests that underpin them. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, and research areas may include (but are not limited to) the analysis of public religion, the sociology of religion, and studies on pluralism and contemporary religiosities.

Contributions from various sub-disciplines of social and religious studies or theology are welcomed, with a particular preference for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. The editors of the Special Issue represent two generations, reflecting their aspiration that junior researchers will submit their work alongside senior researchers. It is imperative that a rigorous review process is maintained.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarising their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editors, Prof. Dr. András Máté-Tóth, at matetoth@rel.u-szeged.hu, and Dr. Vellankal at georgevnkl@gmail.com, and cc the Assistant Editor of Religions, Clare Chai, at clare.chai@mdpi.com. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. András Máté-Tóth
Dr. George Joseph Vellankal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • post-secularism
  • pluralism
  • public religion
  • secularisation
  • public sphere and private sphere
  • sociology of religion

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 302 KB  
Article
Algorithmic Mediation, Trust, and Solidarity in the Post-Secular Age
by George Joseph and András Máté-Tóth
Religions 2026, 17(4), 427; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040427 - 1 Apr 2026
Viewed by 819
Abstract
This article examines how algorithmic mediation reshapes social trust and solidarity in the post-secular age. Historically grounded in shared moral horizons shaped by religion, tradition, and communal practices, trust has increasingly been displaced by technocratic governance, market rationality, and algorithmic systems that mediate [...] Read more.
This article examines how algorithmic mediation reshapes social trust and solidarity in the post-secular age. Historically grounded in shared moral horizons shaped by religion, tradition, and communal practices, trust has increasingly been displaced by technocratic governance, market rationality, and algorithmic systems that mediate work, cognition, communication, and political life. Through a critical analysis of contemporary developments—including algorithmic labour management, neurotechnology, large language models, digital public spheres, technological sovereignty, and global AI governance—the article argues that algorithmic mediation intensifies the fragility of trust by instrumentalizing human agency, fragmenting public reason, and concentrating power within opaque technological infrastructures. Against technological determinism and purely procedural approaches to ethics, the article advances a normative framework rooted in solidarity and the common good. Drawing on post-secular perspectives, a retrieval of natural law normativity, and the resources of Catholic Social Teaching, it contends that trust cannot be sustained through efficiency, prediction, or regulation alone. Instead, social trust depends upon relational goods—dignity, responsibility, participation, and truth—that resist reduction to data-driven optimization. Reclaiming solidarity therefore requires re-embedding AI within moral horizons capable of guiding technological development toward integral human flourishing. In this sense, the governance of AI emerges not merely as a technical challenge but as a decisive moral and political task for post-secular societies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Secularism: Society, Politics, Theology)
20 pages, 339 KB  
Article
Confronting Demonic Autonomy in Digital Capitalism: Reconstructing Tillich’s Religious Socialism as a Post-Secular Public Theology
by Li Tian and Shangwen Dong
Religions 2026, 17(1), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17010116 - 20 Jan 2026
Viewed by 860
Abstract
In an age in which the post-secular condition and digital capitalism are increasingly interwoven, the question of what role religion ought to play in the public sphere—and how it might regain critical and constructive force amid deepening crises of meaning—has become urgent. Contemporary [...] Read more.
In an age in which the post-secular condition and digital capitalism are increasingly interwoven, the question of what role religion ought to play in the public sphere—and how it might regain critical and constructive force amid deepening crises of meaning—has become urgent. Contemporary digital capitalism, characterized by the pseudo-sacralization of algorithmic logic, generates a persistent absorptive power marked by ecstatic effects. This elevates technological rationality and market logic to a level of pseudo-sacral authority, exercising a form of symbolic and spiritual domination. Returning to Paul Tillich’s thought, this article reconstructs his vision of religious socialism not as a historical artifact, but as a critical public theology capable of resisting this form of demonic domination. Tillich’s central insight is that the crisis of capitalism is not merely economic but ontological: its culture of “autonomy” severs itself from its religious ground, allowing finite forms—now amplified by digital technology—to elevate themselves into ultimate meaning and thereby consolidate into self-absolutizing, demonic structures. Against this background, the article argues that Tillich’s religious socialism is not a proposal for institutional replacement, but a public theological practice rooted in “ultimate concern.” Its task is to expose the structures of usurpation operative within digital capitalism and to reconfigure the order of meaning through the symbolic vision of theonomy. Through this symbolic practice, religion is recovered as a deep dimension of culture capable of critically piercing the regimes of meaning-occlusion. Moreover, it is precisely the unfinished and open-ended characteristic of religious socialism that enables it to regain theoretical and symbolic vitality in the post-secular present. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Secularism: Society, Politics, Theology)
23 pages, 390 KB  
Article
Between Secularization and Desecularization: Youth Religiosity in Turkey’s Imam Hatip Schools
by Fadime Yılmaz
Religions 2026, 17(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17010087 - 12 Jan 2026
Viewed by 2590
Abstract
This article examines the trajectory of secularization and desecularization in Turkey through the lens of Imam Hatip high schools, focusing on how religion has been reintroduced into the public sphere and reshaped educational exposure. While secularism in Turkey historically emerged as a state-driven [...] Read more.
This article examines the trajectory of secularization and desecularization in Turkey through the lens of Imam Hatip high schools, focusing on how religion has been reintroduced into the public sphere and reshaped educational exposure. While secularism in Turkey historically emerged as a state-driven project imposed from above, recent decades have witnessed a marked process of desecularization under the Justice and Development Party, facilitated by institutional reforms in law, education, and bureaucracy. The study draws on qualitative interviews with experts, analyzed through grounded theory, to capture their perceptions of religious schooling and its impact. The analysis is organized into three themes: the persistence of top-down secularism, the institutionalized reintroduction of religion, and the intersection of religionized politics with educational practices. Findings indicate that while family socialization remains a primary source of religious identity, Imam Hatip schools function as a symbolic site of religiosity and political contestation. The study concludes that Turkey’s current desecularization is not merely a grassroots revival but a state-mediated restructuring of the secular–religious balance, with education serving as a central arena for negotiating visibility, autonomy, and identity. At the same time, the legacy of top-down secularism has paradoxically contributed to alienating younger generations from religion, shaping ambivalent attitudes toward faith and schooling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Secularism: Society, Politics, Theology)
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