The Potential Role of Religion in the Public Sphere. Considerations By Means Of the Contemporary Imaginary
While telling “the history of the next two centuries” (namely the advent of nihilism), Nietzsche’s intention was also to warn us about the consequences of the death of God: “What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? And backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us?” (Nietszsche 1974: 182). Nietzsche’s hypothesis does not appear extraneous to the present reality, especially when we consider the perils to which we are exposed by a nihilist culture exalted by the new power which technical systems have progressively rendered available to individuals. Indeed, there could be no room at all for human beings in a world that purports to work without posing the question of eaning.
