Postsecular History

Maxwell Kennel is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto.

“Postsecular History’s strength lies in its weaving together of a diverse collection of literature that attends to broad historical themes of periodization and progress … . Kennel provides illuminating close readings of his chosen texts, his tendency to summarize source material can make the book read like a literature review at times.” (Jonas Brandt, Reading Religion, readingreligion.org, December 6, 2023)“This book is an interesting, engaging, and wide-ranging argument that displays considerable depth. … I conclude with the assessment that Kennel’s work is important to Christian political theology. He offers insightful engagements … and brings to view what goes on in seemingly innocent activities and habit of mind, such as periodization. … This book serves as a solid contribution to political theology at this early stage of Kennel’s career; I look forward to hearing more from his distinctive voice soon.” (Paul Doerksen, Mennonite Quarterly Review, Vol. 96, October, 2022)

• 1. Introduction.- 2. Political Theology and the Politics of Time.- 3. Postsecular History and the Seventeenth-Century Dutch Collegiants.- 4. Fanaticism, Anachronism, and Melville’s Intervals.- 5. Periodization and Providence Between Nietzsche and Augustine.- 6. The Regulation of the Subject by the Technology of Time.- 7. Dorothee Sölle’s Postsecular Political Theology of Waiting.- 8. Conclusion.