Richard Rorty's Philosophy of Religion: At the Crossroads of Eras

The article discusses the theme of religion in the works of the famous American philosopher Richard Rorty. The problem of the article is connected with the need to explicate Rorty's views on the nature of religion and its social role in the context of the "revival of religion" of the late 20th - early 21st centuries. The article discloses Rorty's finalist views, as well as the gradual realization of the need for their creative rethinking in connection with the actualization of the role of religion in the intellectual and political spheres. The article reveals two fundamental aspects of Rorty's philosophy of religion. The first of them is related to Rorty's perception of the concept "weak thinking" in the works of the Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo. Rorty considers "weak thinking" and "kenosis" as a key to understanding the possibility of the existence of religion in the postmodern era. Religion is conceptualized as a unique experience "on the other side" of metaphysics, distancing itself from the "strong" structures of theological metanarration. In this distinction between "strong" theology and "weak" religious experience, Rorty finds reason to combine his finalist views and the need to reckon with the flourishing of religion in the modern world. Religion as a great theory of explaining the world underwent erosion along with other metaphysical systems, but religion as an experience of faith and love continues to be relevant for a person, it is alive and promising. It is postmodernism and the erosion of metaphysics that make us, perhaps for the first time in history, capable of respecting different points of view and accepting each other with love without edification and arrogance. The second aspect is related to the existence of religion in public space. Here, the distinction between "strong" narratives and "weak" thinking correlates with a significant political difference between "strong" religious institutions and private (parish, community) religious practice. Rorty believes that there is something in common in the repressive influence of strong religious theories and strong religious institutions. But while the action of the former is already limited by the postmodern era, the latter continue, according to Rorty, a clearly dangerous and harmful business in the public sphere. The activity of "strong" religious structures threatens Rorty's liberal "social hope" for a gradual democratization of humanity, and therefore he assesses it unambiguously negatively. The article concludes that Richard Rorty's philosophy of religion presents an original concept of religion in the context of modern secular humanism, which positively assesses religious experience to the extent that it does not become the basis for theoretical and political "strong" structures, but contributes to respectful interaction between people.

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