Sacred Rules and Secular Politics: Religion and Rules

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between rules and politics in the intersection of the secular and the sacred. When identity in Europe was firmly fixed to Christianity, the rules governing the sacred and secular neatly meshed. With the onset of modernity, however, a cleavage arose between those two sets of rules, leading to theoretical and political conflict and confusion. Understanding the role of rules within modern religious traditions reveals the tension between symbols and authority, a conflict found in secular contexts as well. Hermeneutics, the study of interpretation which had its roots in biblical interpretation, also provides insights on rules and rule-making.