Peter Berger and the Permanence of Religion: Possible Reflections on Radicalism in Politics and Religions

Abstract

This article sought to understand the concept of the persistence of religion in the contemporary world and its transformations in the face of the secularization process, according to the sociology of religion perspective of the Austro-American theologian and sociologist, Peter Berger (1929-2017 CE)—who was of Jewish origin and a Lutheran. It particularly takes into account the phenomenon of radicalisms. Regarding methodology, a literature review was chosen, emphasizing the three phases of Berger's sociological theory—secularization, desecularization, and pluralism—correlating them to the processes of political and religious radicalization, both in Brazil and abroad. As a theoretical framework, several Bergerian concepts were used to explain how the Christian-based European conception of modernity sought to shape the religious experience into an 'imperative of choice,' which encountered resistance in non-European or non-Christian traditions. More specifically within the field of Jewish studies, the article proposed a dialogue on radicalism, considering the reflections proposed by Berger, the English rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020 CE), and the Israeli writer Amos Oz (1939-2018 CE). All three identified religious radicalism as a modern pathology and a denial of alterity. Thus, the text also reaffirms Jewish values of interpretative plurality and the experience of alterity as ethical and epistemological antidotes against fanaticism and political radicalism.