Abstract
This dissertation is a critical study of the philosophy of history that Eric Voegelin articulated in the 1950s. Through an examination of The New Science of Politics (1952), Order and History volumes 1-3 (1956-1957), and Science, Politics, and Gnosticism (1959--1960), it establishes Voegelin's relevance to current interdisciplinary debates about political theology as an alternative to secular thinking, focusing on political theologies inspired by the Christian intellectual tradition. By comparing Voegelin to Carl Schmitt and to recent political theologians of the left, it seeks to show the attraction that political theology holds as a possible approach to normative political theory. By tracing the development of Voegelin's thought from the 1950s through Order and History volume 4 (1974), it argues nevertheless that political theology is a risky enterprise, and suggests that while academic political theorists should be sensitive to the merits of theological political thought, these merits do not warrant a departure from the secular norms of political liberalism. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by addressing your request to ProQuest, 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346. Telephone 1-800-521-3042; e-mail: disspub@umi.com