Liberalism as Religion and Its Global Repercussion: A Comparative Perspective on the Critical Interpretations of John Gray and John Milbank
Published 2026-08-09
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Abstract
This paper makes a comparative analysis of the thought of the philosopher John Gray and the Christian socialist theologian John Milbank—both contemporary English authors—on the relationship between liberalism, religion, and international order. Although they come from different intellectual backgrounds, both agree that this relationship does not consist simply of the interaction between political and religious actors, but above all of a convergence in which ideology and religion merge to give rise to specific forms of political religion and theology that define the ways in which human life is conducted on a global scale. Despite this similarity, this paper ends by highlighting the differences that exist between Gray and Milbank regarding their conceptions of the post-liberal world derived from their assessments of liberalism and religion.
Keywords
- John Gray,
- John Milbank,
- post-liberalism,
- political theology,
- political religion
- liberalism,
- geopolitical theology,
- value pluralism,
- politics of virtue,
- Eric Voegelin,
- Carl Schmitt ...More
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