Capitalism, Religion, and the Idea of the Demonic

Following the debate on the relationship between capitalism and religion, this paper discusses the role of religion in present-day capitalism. It argues that neither the secularization thesis nor the influential concepts of a “return” or a “transformation” of religions can offer a convincing interpretation of the challenges religions are faced with in modern capitalism. Partially following Habermas, the paper outlines an interactionist reinterpretation of Durkheim’s theory of religion. It shows that from the viewpoint of such an interpretation, it is possible that the place of religion in modern societies can be filled not only by manifestly religious systems of meaning, but also by nominally nonreligious ones. I argue that the capital form of money can, in fact, assume the function of such a “latent” religion in an apparently “secularized” world. Nevertheless, to simply equate capitalism with religion, as many authors have suggested, would be shortsighted. Rather, as a characterization of the contemporary relationship between capitalism and religion, Paul Tillich’s concept of the “demonic” appears more promising. [MPIfG Discussion Paper 12/2]