A Question of Necessity: Deconstruction,Khōra,and Faith

Abstract

Jacques Derrida's interest in questions concerning belief and religion is especially apparent in his later texts. Talk of a `religious turn,' however, wrongly implies a sudden conversion or translation of deconstruction into a theological discourse. To appreciate the emergence of religion in Derrida's thought, one must attend to his larger interest in the questions of `necessity,' `origins,' and `the promise.' These elements constitute the background against which Derrida's religious lexicon is shaped, and for which his complex relationship to Martin Heidegger is of critical importance. His comments on `the religious' in the work `Faith and Knowledge' are the high point of a rigorous inquiry into `necessity.' This culmination, however, is better understood as a turn `of' religion than a turn `to' religion. With his accelerating emphasis on a religion of responsibility and tolerance, Derrida's `turn' is uncharacteristically decisive and may well run the hitherto unimaginable risk of dogmatism.