The Future of Religion

Richard Rorty and Gianni Vattimo; Edited by Santiago Zabala

Paper, 304 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-13495-8
$18.95 / £12.95

March, 2005
Cloth, 304 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-13494-1
$62.00 / £43.00

"Recommended for large academic Libraries" — Library Journal

"We're lucky then, to have The Future of Religion...unlike so many voices we've heard in the last week, Rorty and Vattimo think big about Catholicism." — Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer

"The Future of Religion is the perfect primer in post-metaphysical historicism." — Paul J. Griffiths, First Things

"This brief book opens a vista onto the thought of two... helpful thinkers." — Jeffrey Dudiak, Philosophy in Review

"Intellectually stimulating." — James J. DiCenso, Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"Readers who think of themselves as thoughtful but find philosophy oddly boring, readers who regard religion as an unavoidable topic but find theology vaguely disappointing-these are the readers (and I count myself among them) who will be quickly caught up by Rorty, Vattimo, and Zabala on The Future of Religion. This is the kind of book one reads thinking 'Finally!'" — Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography

"Who could have foreseen postmodern thought taking this turn? Nihilism is 'the actual meaning of Christianity.' Hermeneutics teaches "love is the only law." A book in which Rorty and Vattimo make such avowals together is by definition an important affair." — Jeffrey M. Perl, editor, Common Knowledge

"What comes after the 'end of metaphysics'? Can religion survive without foundations, objective truth, or God? Two of the world's leading philosophers-Gianni Vattimo and Richard Rorty-converge on an answer here. Together, Vattimo's hermeneutics and Rorty's pragmatism reframe our vision of the Christian message that love is the only law. Concise and cutting-edge, this book makes for exciting reading. Santiago Zabala has done a real service in forging a dialogue and making these reflections available." — Nancy Frankenberry, Dartmouth College

Related Subjects

• Christianity
• Philosophy of Religion

About the Author

Richard Rorty is professor of comparative literature and philosophy at Stanford University. He is the author of numerous works, including Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature; Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity; and What's the Use of Truth? Gianni Vattimo teaches hermeneutic philosophy at the University of Turin. Among his books are After Christianity; Nihilism and Emancipation: Ethics, Politics, and Law; Dialogue with Nietzsche; and After the Death of God. Santiago Zabala is the editor of Weakening Philosophy: Essays in Honor of Gianni Vattimo and author of The Hermeneutic Nature of Analytic Philosophy and the forthcoming The Remains of Being.

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