Politics & Religion

The main aim of this article is to show how, in the view of the German-American political philosopher Leo Strauss, religion plays a preponderant political role in maintaining the social establishment and civil order. It is thus a question of seeing how, for this philosopher, religion, as the holder of a moral horizon legitimised by the idea of revelation, is an indispensable element in political life, since, in Strauss's view, in order to guarantee the functionality of any political regime, it is necessary, to a large extent, for individuals to respect the norms and values that make life in society possible, believing in their absolute or unconditional character, something that is only possible through religious discourse. Based on the observation of these elements, the author analyses Strauss' strong criticism of the modern Western political project propagated by the Enlightenment, which, in the name of reason, sought to reduce religion to the status of superstition, putting every human moral enterprise at risk. In this way, the author tries to rethink the place and usefulness of religion in the politics of contemporary societies.