Politics and Religion in the Post-Secular Society: Habermas, Ratzinger and the Theological-Political Question

The major aim of this paper is to answer the following question: How can Christianity contribute to the common good? After defining the meaning of “post- secular society” from a sociological viewpoint, I will focus on the possibility of a “political theology” (in the sense of Carl Schmitt) nowadays. In Italy this question was recently discussed with effect from the celebrations of the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan (313 a.D.). In this occasion some scholars defended a perspective which can be defined as “neo-Augustinian”. I will present and discuss Joseph Ratzinger’s version of this perspective—which rejects Schmitt’s political theology in favor of a political ethos—in the light of the so-called Dilemma of Böckenförde (“The free secular state lives according to presuppositions that it cannot itself guarantee”). According to Ratzinger, Augustine’s doctrine of the “two cities” (the divine and the human) is still helpful as on one side it avoids any sacralization of social and political entities, while on the other side it recognizes their own autonomy and value. To preserve this healthy dualism it is necessary for the “divine city” to be present in the public realm not only through its single members but also as a community with its own juridical institutions. I will finally argue that a liberal state is required to take up the challenge of the “divine city” if it wants to defend its own liberal nature.