Neither Priests nor Clowns: Attitudes Towards the Postsecular Turn in Anthropology

The article discusses the issue of the postsecular turn in contemporary anthropology, taking into account the cultural processes involved in its emergence. The author attempts to identify research areas and issues worthy of exploring within this turn, and at the same time she considers the boundary conditions for its usefulness in scientific research. Referring to the recent anthropological literature on this topic, the author distinguishes two leading epistemological attitudes involved in this turn: the one that acknowledges the supernatural dimension of revelation and the one that sees it as a social fact. Both are heterogenous and each sees the relationship between anthropology and theology differently. Discussing some anthropological views in this regard, the author aims to revive the dialogue between researchers from various social and human sciences representing the postsecular turn. On the one hand, this dialogue can initiate new paths of mutual inspiration and co-thinking; on the other hand, it may lead to more conscious distinctions between different varieties of postsecular reflection.