أسئلة فلسفة الدين في كتابات عزمي بشارة : قراءة في الجزء الأول من كتاب الدين و العلمانية في سياق تاريخي

Abstract EN

In this study we seek to present Azmi Bishara's theory of religion and the sacred.

It is true that Bishara did not intend to write on the theory of religion, or (the philosophy of religion, as the subject is known in contemporary Western philosophy), but he found himself doing precisely this while writing the first volume, which was meant to serve as an introduction to his major work entitled Religion and Secularism in a Historical Context.

The first volume of Bishara's work can and should be treated as self-standing piece of work which merits independent study, despite the fact that it is put to use in the subsequent parts of the work.

This part of his work, which is theoretical, should serve as a reference work by an Arab thinker on the subject of the philosophy of religion.

The present article focuses on the first volume of Bishara's work, where it will be suggested pace Bishara, that it is an independent book, and a unique work that deals with research and theory alone, in contrast to the subsequent volumes which deal with the history of the idea of secularism (in the second volume of he work) and the process of secularization (in the third volume).

The article will also present Bishara's conception of religious experience and the sacred, the relationship between religion and magic, the essence of myth and its relationship to religion, the relationship between morality and religion, and the contrast between religion and religiosity.