ABSTRACT
Explicit critical comments on love of nation flow rarely from the pen of Soren Kierkegaard. However, the implications of Kierkegaard’s thought often run directly counter to the beliefs of nationalism, especially the Danish Christian nationalism present in figures contemporaneous with him. Considering the lack of explicit material in Kierkegaard, Stephen Backhouse is wise not to leap right into constructing Kierkegaard’s critique of Christian nationalism. The philosophical toolkit that enables Kierkegaard to reject his contemporaries’ fusion of Christ and nation is briefly developed. Against Don Cupitt, Backhouse shows that Kierkegaard’s notion of contemporaneity does not lead to an ahistorical view; instead, it attempts “to articulate the right relation to history”. In a refreshing critical maneuver, Backhouse then goes on to censure the “hasty defenders” of Kierkegaard’s notion of self-identity, those who are eager to absolve Kierkegaard of any charges of asocial individualism.
