Alain Badiou Quotes About Religion, born January 17, 1937, in Rabat, Morocco, is a French philosopher, mathematician, and radical thinker whose works, such as Being and Event (1988) and Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism (1997), explore ontology, truth, and political engagement. A former chair of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure, Badiou draws on Plato, Hegel, and Lacan, advocating for universal truths and revolutionary change while critiquing capitalism and institutional dogmas, including religion. His views on religion, particularly in his analysis of Saint Paul, treat it as a site of universalist potential but also a structure often co-opted by power. These 15 quotes—sourced from his books, interviews, and speeches—reflect his insights on religion, faith, universalism, and truth, infused with his provocative and philosophical intensity.
15 Alain Badiou Quotes About Religion
- “Paul’s project is to show that a universal logic of salvation cannot be reconciled with any law, be it one that ties thought to the cosmos, or one that fixes the effects of an originary belief.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “Religion is often a machine for the production of particular identities, but it can also be the site of a universal truth that exceeds it.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “What interests me in Saint Paul is not the resurrection, but the invention of a universalism that breaks with the particularity of religious law.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “Faith, for Paul, is not a belief in miracles, but a subjective fidelity to an event that ruptures the order of the world.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “Religion, when it becomes a closed system, betrays the very universality it claims to represent.” (Infinite Thought, 2003)
- “The religious temptation is to subordinate truth to a pre-established narrative, but truth is always an event, not a dogma.” (Being and Event, 1988)
- “Paul’s genius was to make Christianity a truth procedure that addresses all, not a cult for a chosen few.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “The problem with religion is not its aspiration to the divine, but its frequent alliance with power and exclusion.” (Interview, Philosophie Magazine, 2009)
- “A true universalism, like Paul’s, does not need the crutch of religious hierarchy to sustain itself.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “Religion can inspire fidelity to a cause, but it often imprisons it within rigid structures.” (Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil, 2002)
- “What is divine is not a transcendent being, but the event that transforms human possibility.” (Logics of Worlds, 2009)
- “The religious mind seeks certainty, but philosophy demands we live with the uncertainty of truth’s emergence.” (Second Manifesto for Philosophy, 2011)
- “Paul teaches us that a truth is not owned by a religion; it is a gift to humanity that must be shared.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
- “Religion often mistakes obedience for faith, but faith is a militant commitment to a new possibility.” (The Century, 2007)
- “To think religion philosophically is to extract its universal kernel from the shell of its particular dogmas.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 1997)
Alain Badiou’s quotes about religion are a challenging blend of critical scrutiny and appreciation for its universalist potential, urging fans to distinguish truth from dogma and embrace transformative events over rigid systems. Which quote reshapes your view of faith? Share it below and keep Badiou’s radical philosophy thriving!
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