The Theology of J. Caputo in a Post-Secular Context

The research explores the problem of rethinking the divine in the transition from secular to post-secular discourse in Western European thought. The author applies to J.D. Caputo’s theology, who is considering the possibility of religion without dogmas and theology “after God”, using comparative historical and systematic research methods. Special attention is paid to the analysis of Caputo’s basic discursive principles and strategies, through which he tries to return theological thought from ideal theoretical constructions to the everyday life experience of a secular person. The author focuses on analyzing the reinterpretation of the problem of God in Caputo’s hermeneutical-phenomenological project from a historical perspective and in a post-secular context. The study reveals that following M. Heidegger’s phenomenology of the event and J. Derrida’s strategy of deconstruction., Caputo brakes the boundaries between faith and reason, philosophy and theology, knowledge and activity, immanent and transcendent, the world and God, which leads not only to relativism, but also to agnosticism. Вy declaring the hermeneutical character of truth, Caputo arbitrarily chooses representatives of Western European philosophical and theological thought and arbitrarily interprets their ideas, integrating them into his concept. The work is characterized by an original interpretation of Caputo’s attempt to interact with the “decline of metanarratives” by F. Lyotard, “deconstruction” and “desire beyond desire” by J. Derrida, the “plane of immanence” by J. Deleuze. The study reveals the ethical content of the concept of a weak God as the essence of Caputo’s theology. The author argues that although Caputo’s attempt to bring God back into the daily lives of post-secular Western European society is somewhat utopian, his concept of a weak God or event theology is aimed at revival of traditional Christian values, such as faith, hope, love, justice and responsibility. Caputo’s theology is directed against challenges of totalitarian ideologies, of religious radicalism and fundamentalism.