John Milbank and the Fortunes of Postliberal Theology

Abstract The article offers a critical evaluation of John Milbank’s advocacy of postliberal theology in his writings of the last three decades. His critique of secularism and liberalism is found to be deficient in several regards and counter arguments for a critical but positive engagement with secular modernity are advanced. Liberal democracy should not be equated with possessive individualism because it involves obligations, solidarities, and the sustaining of civic life by good citizenship and virtuous traditions. The virulent rejection of the secular by Milbank, Stanley Hauerwas and Rowan Williams, misunderstands the relationship between the sacred and secular. The sacred embraces every sphere of life including the secular realm and Milbank’s account of the secular is not just inaccurate but theologically unwarranted, especially in relation to the doctrine of creation and incarnational theology.