Radically Secular. Reflections on the Theological Legitimacy of Religious Indifference

Abstract

The theologically contentious issue of religious indifference requires reflection on the justification for leading a “godless” life: Could the mere fact that one can live as if God did not exist, originate from the conditions of human beings and their world—which is claimed to be God’s creation? Is the “secular option” an implication of human creatureliness? Relational ontology, in the context of theology, is able to acknowledge the secularity of the world, while also reminding us of its reference to God when interpreted in a creation-theological sense. Such a theology can, for theological reasons, understand the “homo areligiosus”, while at the same time holding fast to the indispensable possibility of a conception of existence that does not wish to do without the idea of God.