Religion–Existence–Death: Perspectives from Existentialism

Dear Colleagues,

Religions invites authors to explore experiences and conceptions of death from the religious/philosophical viewpoints of existentialism. The reality of death continues to challenge and compel humanity toward an adequate response to this mystery of life through life reflected in language, culture, religion and politics with insights that revise, reconfirm or reject traditional perspectives. Contributions to the question of religion and death seen from the existentialist perspective(s) are welcome from all arrays of academic and professional life concerned with the existential phenomenon of death, such as theology, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, history, sociology, political science, and the natural sciences.

While religion is a response to the reality of mortality, secular societies have relegated the phenomenon to the personal domain of private life, where it only finds social recognition in its commodification and, on special occasions, elevation to a public event. The universal fear of its omnipresence places death as an event in the center of existence, where its looming threat is “best” coped with in deliberate ignorance and determined indifference. In his existential ontology, Martin Heidegger addresses this phenomenon within his conception of (in)authentic being. However, the rich complexity of the issue has since been met with overcomplicated analyses that aim, but fail, to capture the simplicity of the existential truth. The pandemic reveals the perennial timeliness of the question in its enduring timelessness, manifested in the (im)pertinence of its relentless self-assertion. Thus, the question of death deserves revisitation from a plethora of academic disciplines.

This Special Issue will provide a space for renewed investigation. Its goal is to recreate a university forum for the exploration of ideas in the original sense, now seldom seen because of the continuing fractionalization of thought into ever new subdisciplines. The vibrant breadth of focus on this vital question will help restore the original vision of the university as an agora and center of the polis of the human enterprise of understanding—the understanding of the religious experience of life and death. As a place of collegial collaboration, the university is naturally inclined to conduct constructive dialogue and assemble the multifaceted perspectives of its disciplines into one holistic view. The Special Issue will reflect this mission and provide both the depth and the breadth of a panoramic vision on the vital questions of both religion faced with the reality of death and death seen within the context of religion, including the rejection of it.

As both religion and death constitute pillars of human existence, the open-minded dialogue at and around these pillars will widen the horizon of humanity, and, through a concentrated and concerted effort, encourage the self-extension of human being(s) toward the recognition and embrace of its (and each other’s) intrinsic otherness. In the unity of its vast differences, humanity sees itself called to celebrate the wealth of its flourishing existence. Religious, cultural, and individual realities give testimony to the human endevour of coping with the reality of mortality. Hence, all professions and disciplines are called to speak to the question of religion and death from an existentialist perspective.

Dr. Achim Oberst
Dr. Susanne Claxton
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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