Without a Blank Space? Constellations of Faith, Desire, and Indifference After the End of Homo Religiosus

Abstract

This article addresses religious indifference as a core challenge for theology. Faith is not seen as a human need but as desire—affective, contingent, and encounter-based. Theological perspectives by Peter Rollins, James K. A. Smith, and Philipp Stoellger offer various approaches to this dynamics. Indifference is portrayed not as mere apathy, but as a protective response to the unsettling nature of desiring faith.