Abstract

For some time, practical and systematic theologians have tried to understand and form the relation between Christian religion and aesthetic experience. This essay asks whether classical forms of religion have an aesthetic potential that is relevant for a modern mind. To address the question, the essay analyzes recent publications by a Muslim orientalist (Navid Kermani), a Jewish literary critic (Leon Wieseltier), and a Roman Catholic author (Martin Mosebach). Following upon this analysis, the concluding discussion focuses on whether these three conceptions of a modern-classical aesthetic of religion are relevant for Protestant religious life.