Europe's secularism and the politics of the soul

... We then move over to Europe with Meins Coetsier's piece on Europe's secularism. Unlike the early American experience which, as noted by Miller, had a distinctly religious element – Europe is “challenged by radical atheism.” Coetsier fears the removal of the Judeo-Christian heritage. He sees it as a sign of Europe's degradation and a “need of finding restoration of an open conversation with God, and a free dialogue between man and man.” “The solution to religious conflict or to major social, cultural and economic problems is not established by 'scapegoating'... but a 'politics of the soul,' that is politike episteme or understanding of how to live in society, which brings justice to all people.” There is a need to be open “to the pull of the Beyond” beyond “one's present horizon of knowledge, of religious and ethical orientation towards the divine.” “[W]e confront our fears and ignorance and allow ourselves to be moved by a genuine desire for love and truth, for a relationship with the 'Eternal Thou.' This is the politics of the soul.