Political Theology and Modernity: Peterson, Blumenberg and Schmitt

The aim of this paper is to clarify the meaning of Schmitt's expression "political theology" by discussing the homonymous Schmittian doctrine of sovereignty. I will evaluate, on the one hand, the theological (Peterson) and the scientific-philosophical (Blumenberg) critiques of Schmitt and, on the other hand, Schmitt's answer to both critiques, which can be found in Political Theology II. I will try to prove that Schmitt's theory of secularization, as it was proposed in 1922, does not imply a theologization of politics. On the contrary, this theory presupposes the death of God and, therefore, it states that secularity is intrinsic to Modern Age.