"Beyond the Gates": René Girard and the Persistence of Sacrifice

Abstract

In 1972, René Girard’s La Violence et le Sacré was published, bringing widespread attention to his insights correlating religion, violence, and social and cultural formation. In 1992, the British philosopher Gillian Rose published an acerbic critique of Girard, taking issue with his demonization of the language and concept of sacrifice. For Rose, this placed Girard in the company of “postmodern” philosophers whose distrust of modern rationality and embrace of messianic alternatives amounted to an “exodus” from the imperium of reason. This article will revisit the dispute thirty years on: is it true that Girard has “left the city,” as Rose maintains? The charge is countered by a demonstration of the connection between Girardian theory and two areas of philosophical investigation: theodicy and the problem of evil; and political theory in the light of the ”return of the theo-political.” In the light of these, an overall re-assessment of Rose’s critique will be offered. Throughout, the persistence of ”sacrifice” as a philosophical and theological category will be noted.