ABSTRACT
The term postsecular is a fluid and multidimensional concept. Not surprisingly, it includes a range of meanings and connotations that are dependent on, and derivative from, a variety of views and interpretations of the secular within scholarly research on secularism and secularization. Even if adopted by various academic disciplines as sociology, political science, philosophy, and history, the actual meaning of the term postsecular remains vague and ambiguous. Yet, within this intricate web of meanings and connotations, the term postsecular also expresses the idea of putting an abrupt end to conventional ways of thinking about secularism, secularization, and the transformation of religion in modern societies. The term itself seems to suggest the emergence of a new historical epoch in which a new type of global world order or pluralist society has arisen. Moreover, in various fields of academic scholarship, the increasingly common usage of the term postsecular has the effect of imposing a paradigm shift in thinking about the role, place, and significance of religion in the contemporary world. This dimension we call the performative force of the term postsecular. And it is the analysis of this performative dimension of the usage of the term that will be the main subject of this contribution.
