Religion, Paradoxes, and the Absurd By Carole Cusack

https://www.academia.edu/143702753/Religion_Paradoxes_and_the_Absurd?email_work_card=title The Enlightenment downgraded the paradoxical as it violated principles of logic. This was partly because (Christian) theology was viewed by secular rationalists as the paradoxical/ irrationalist discourse par excellence. Very little work on religion and paradox, or the broader category of the absurd, exists and it usually addresses historical sources in the world religions, especially Christianity and Buddhism. Yet paradox and absurdity flourish in the production of art (visual, literary, and performative). I have argued that religion and art are more closely connected than is usually accepted; invented religions are also evidence of art-making and are meaningful because they value creativity, paradox, and play. They may also be absurd, but this is not the insulting criticism that those accustomed to "traditional" religions imagine. It may even be a strength of this relatively new religious form.