Religion in the Age of Romanticism: Studies in Early Nineteenth-Century Thought [Hardcover]

Bernard M. G. Reardon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 1985 | ISBN-10: 0521300886 | ISBN-13: 978-0521300889 | Edition: First

This book presents studies of early-nineteenth century religious thought in Germany, France and Italy in so far as it reflected the influence of the Romantic movement. Romanticism may be notoriously difficult to define, but the cast of mind usually associated with it - manifest in philosophy, theology and social theory as well as in literature, music and the visual arts - is never hard to detect, even though the forms of its expression may vary widely. The authors considered, including Schleiermacher, Hegel, Schelling, Rosmini, Lamennais, Renan and Comte, all took religion seriously as voicing a fundamental impulse of the human spirit, even if the doctrines and institutions of Christianity had in their view to be either radically modified or else rejected outright. They were not satisfied with what they were apt to regard as the 'soulless' rationalism of the preceding century, as equally they feared the growing encroachment of natural science upon the freedom and indeed the self-identity of the human consciousness. A middle way, they sensed, had to be found - one grounded in man's moral and aeshetic experience - between the old orthodoxy and sterile unbelief.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The conflict between Romantic thought of the early 1800s in Europe and traditional Christian beliefs resulted in liberalism competing against conservatism. This text attempts to show how writers such as Schleiermacher, Hegel, Schelling and Auguste Compte did not reject religion, despite the influence of the increasingly science oriented culture of their time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 313 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; First edition (September 27, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521300886
• ISBN-13: 978-0521300889
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,889,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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