Postsecularism

I went to the keynote address for the Beauty and Belief conference on Thursday, given by Professor Lori Branch. It was about the rise of postsecular (or religious) studies and how postsecularism is finding a place among the many secular "isms" in literary criticism. One thing she talked about specifically was the need for those with secular views to be more accepting of those with religious views. She also talked about how faith and religion are key to understanding literature because faith is necessary in the construction of meaning and understanding why we study literature in the first place. I thought her ideas were really interesting, because I'd never really thought about how religious views have a place in literary criticism. It does make sense, though, since religion is a key part of how religious people understand the world around them.