The Postmodern Reception of Maurycy Straszewski’s Religious Explorations

Abstract

Contemporary developments in the area of religion and religiosity have been significantly influenced by the processes of modernisation, secularisation and universal pluralism. In the ideas of many postmodern philosophers, the concept of the “return of religion” appears. This concept was presented, among others, by Maurycy Straszewski, whose thought stems from 19th-century positivism. Many elements of Straszewski’s theory are represented in contemporary philosophical statements on the transformation of religiosity. Particularly important are the postulate of the compatibility of religion with reason and science, the departure from dogma, the individualisation of spirituality, and the influence of religion on the formation of moral attitudes, social relations and interpersonal solidarity.