Kirkestormen, neo-Gnosticism and Secular Christianity

Abstract

The article notes that Kierkegaard’s writings on the Church had a considerable impact on theology in the 20th century including, not least, the theological movement sometimes referred to as ‘religionless’ or ‘secular’ Christianity. Like that movement, Kierkegaard problematized the very idea of a Church. However, his writings also reflect a rejection of life in the world rather than the ‘secular’ affirmation of thisworldliness. This can seem like a version of Neo-Gnosticism. However, it is argued that Kierkegaard’s rejection of the world is neither to be understood in the perspective of the Augustinian doctrine of original sin nor of Gnostic dualism but reflects a modern understanding of the
world as a unitary whole. The question then is whether such a world is favourable to human flourishing.