Publisher's Synopsis
Aesthetic forms are focal points of cultural, religious and political conflicts. This is true insofar as they belong to religiously determined and legitimated systems of meaning. They stand within the horizon of certain classification schemes, epistemic distinctions, different conceptions of language and social normativity. This volume inquires into the role and function of "autonomous" art in the process of secularization. This process is characterized not least by the insistent presence of Christian references in modern European art. It is questionable, however, that modern art moves in an a-religious or post-religious space. Conversely, the assumption suggests itself that the secular signature of modern art becomes comprehensible only against the background of Christianity.
