09/07/2025 08:30
- 10:45
HALL: Lecture Hall 42
Proponent:
Deibl J.,
Trawöger S.
Chair:
Deibl J.,
Trawöger S.
Speaker:
Chase C.,
Fritsch-Oppermann S.,
Thwaites J.,
Vitali D.
Religion and aesthetics are deeply connected. Various religious studies and theological analyses include aesthetic aspects and concepts. Aesthetics is thereby understood in a very broad sense, as there is no commonly accepted agreement on its definition, and its relationship with religious experience still offers much to be investigated. Aesthetics, as a philosophical discipline in its own right, has been established since the 18th century, and is thus (unlike ethics, for example) still a young interlocutor for religious studies and theological reflection.
The main element that links aesthetic perspectives on religion is the fact that these perspectives do not primarily consider religions in their doctrinal, legal, moral, ethical, political and sociological dimensions, but rather look at religions as aesthetic programs: The context of their doctrine and law, their cultic and ritual prescriptions, their forms of institutionalisation and community building, etc., are always to be understood as aesthetic expressions as well. The aesthetic dimension pervades all religious domains. In line with this, the contributions to this panel should/do not consider the aesthetic dimension of religion(s) as a peripheral moment, but as a pivotal point for its (their) understanding.