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A Jamesonian theory of theological practice: a critical response to the work of Roland Boer

journal contribution
posted on 2023-10-25, 23:27 authored by Geoff BoucherGeoff Boucher
In a conjuncture marked by the ‘‘resurgence of religion,’’ the problem of historical materialism’s relation to religious ideologies has acquired a new urgency. The work of Roland Boer, recently awarded the Deutscher Prize for his magnum opus on Marxism and Theology poses this question from a surprising perspective. While his main claim is that religious influences in Marxist theory represent a sort of theological unconscious in historical materialism, at the same time Boer also advances an original Marxist interpretation of the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity. This line of research, which extends from his dissertation on Jameson and Jeroboam through to his most recent work on The Sacred Economy, proposes that theology is a reflective representation of the social totality. In this article, I criticize Boer’s valorization of theology as a practical discourse that is postideological but non-theoretical, and conclude by indicating an alternative.

History

Journal

Critical research on religion

Volume

4

Pagination

179-189

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

2050-3032

eISSN

2050-3040

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal, C Journal article

Copyright notice

2016, The Author

Issue

2

Publisher

SAGE Publications