The pneumatic foundation of political theology in Voegelin

Abstract

This article situates the foundation of Voegelin's political theology in the differentiation between noetic and pneumatic modes of human consciousness. The author establishes that Voegelin envisions the reconstructive science of politics as a political theology, amplifies Voegelin's ontology of human consciousness, then further delineates the specific difference Voegelin develops between the noetic and pneumatic differentiations of consciousness. He then identifies how Voegelin construes the critical implications of the pneumatic differentiation of consciousness for political theology in the fourth part. In light of this essential Voegelinian principle, the author concludes by amplifying some ramifications of Voegelin's political theology for the renewal of sustainable political communities.