First published in German as Ein Bewußtsein von dem, was fehlt © Suhrkamp Verlag Frankfurt am Main 2008

This English edition © Polity Press, 2010

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The translation of this work was supported by a grant from the Goethe-Institut which is funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NORBERT BRIESKORN, S. J. is Professor of Social and Legal Philosophy at the Jesuit School for Philosophy in Munich and is a member of its Institute for Social Policy.

JÜRGEN HABERMAS is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Frankfurt University.

MICHAEL REDER is Adjunct Professor of Social Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion at the Jesuit School for Philosophy in Munich and is a member of its Institute for Social Policy.

FRIEDO RICKEN, S. J. is Emeritus Professor of the History of Philosophy and Ethics at the Jesuit School for Philosophy in Munich.

JOSEF SCHMIDT, S. J. is Professor of Philosophical Theology and the History of Philosophy at the Jesuit School for Philosophy in Munich and Director of its Institute for the Philosophy of Religion.

What is meant when contemporary society is described as “post-secular”? With this concept, Jürgen Habermas has exercised a major influence on the recent debate concerning the social role and importance of religion. This is clearly testified by the widespread public response to his speech on receiving the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 2001, and the discussion with the then Cardinal Ratzinger at the Catholic Academy in Munich in 2004. At the center of Habermas's reflections on this issue are the questions of the relation between faith and reason and of the relation between secular and religious citizens. He challenges reason to reflect on what it is missing and on its relation to religion.

The contributors to this volume take up Habermas's challenge to reflect on “the awareness of what is missing.” Their remarks are intended as contributions to the conversation with the philosopher and they wish to provide encouragement to continue the debate. The texts originated in a podium discussion between Habermas and the representatives of the Jesuit School for Philosophy – Norbert Brieskorn, Michael Reder, Friedo Ricken, and Josef Schmidt – which took place in Munich in February 2007. Habermas's contribution was followed by a lively and stimulating debate. For this volume, the participants have developed their reflections further in their contributions, into which arguments from the plenary discussion on that occasion have also found their way.