宗教在公共领域的角色——哈贝马斯的后世俗反思

The Role of Religion in the Public Realm: Jürgen Habermas' Post-secular Reflection

宗教在公共领域的角色是一个争议性课题,不少自由主义者认为信仰是私人的事情,所以宗教不应在公共领域中担任重要角色。早期的哈贝马斯也有类此看法,然而近年他对宗教持较同情和肯定的态度,甚或对"世俗主义社会"的自足性提出深刻的反思。在哈贝马斯与拉辛格主教(教宗本笃十六世)的对话里,哈贝马斯提出"后世俗社会"的新概念,批判僵化的和排斥宗教的世俗主义。一方面,哈贝马斯仍然坚持他的后形而上学和沟通伦理的观点,相信世俗自由社会可在宗教或形而上世界观之外找到基础。另一方面,他看到世俗理性的限制,并肯定整体而言宗教对维系健全的民主是有良性作用的。他甚至认为哲学必须愿意从神学身上学习。他相信在后世俗社会里,宗教会持续存在,而我们也要对宗教的真理存开放性。在现代社会中,哈贝马斯关于后世俗社会的构想,应有助于激烈争辩的多方能更和平、更理性地沟通。

The role of religion in the public realm is a controversial issue. Many liberals believe that since faith is a private matter, religion should not play an important role in the public realm. The early Habermas had a similar view but recently he adopts a more sympathetic and affirmative attitude towards religion. Moreover, he starts to critically reflect upon the self-sufficiency of the secularist society. This essay mainly introduces the dialogue between Habermas and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger （who later became the Pope）. In this dialogue, Habermas proposes the new idea of postsecular society, and criticizes a kind of fossilized secularism which excludes religion. On the one hand, he insists on his postmetaphysical stance and theory of communicative ethics, and believes that a secular liberal society can find its foundation apart from metaphysics or religion. On the other hand, he now acknowledges the limitations of secular reason, and affirms the by and large beneficial role of religion for maintaining a healthy democracy. He even says that philosophy needs to learn from theology. He believes that in a post-secular society, religion will continue to exist, and we need to be open to the truth of religion. The author believes that the idea of post-secular society can help the warring parties in the modern society to communicate with one another in a more peaceful and rational manner.