Kierkegaard, Religion, and Culture Unit

Kierkegaard and Spirituality

Much of Kierkegaard’s authorship was explicitly aimed at “upbuilding” the reader, trying to enlarge, modify, deepen, and catalyze an individual’s capacities for an earnest engagement with life, the neighbor, and with God. In this sense Kierkegaard was a “spiritual” writer, often borrowing themes from his Pietist heritage, medieval mysticism, and Roman Catholic devotional literature. We invite papers on Kierkegaard and spirituality in its many dimensions, including prayer, worship, and the experience of the sacred more generally. Papers exploring the connection between spirituality and love for the neighbor (including social action) will be welcome.

Kierkegaard and Global Religions

Although Kierkegaard devoted much of his authorship to explicating the specific pathos of Christianity, he also discussed religion more generally and made observations about particular religions. We welcome papers concerning Kierkegaard’s understanding of religion in general specific global religions. Papers on Kierkegaard and Judaism, Islam, the religions of India, etc., would be appropriate. Papers could explore Kierkegaard’s understanding of the relation of Christianity to particular global religions.