Carl Raschke

Carl A. Raschke
Era	21st century Philosophy
Region	Western Philosophy
School	Continental
Main interests	Postmodernism

Carl A. Raschke is the Past Chair and Professor of Religious Studies Department at the University of Denver, specializing in continental philosophy, the philosophy of religion and the theory of religion. He is known for his research on popular religion, philosophy of culture and philosophy of technology. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Rashke's role in the Satanic ritual abuse moral panic of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States has been the subject of criticism from scholars.

Theology

Raschke has argued that the gospel represented a departure from Greek and Enlightenment philosophies, and that Christian believers are best served by reliance on a personal trust in God, rather than philosophical or intellectual constructs.

Reception

Raschke has been credited with being "one of the first to register the importance of Derrida's work."

In an article on Wicca and the media for the Oxford Handbook of Religion and the News Media (2012), scholar Sarah M. Pike describes how reports during the trial for the West Memphis Three "failed to consult experts on Wicca and Satanism" but rather referred to material by Raschke, who she describes as a "widely discredited 'Satanism expert'".

Analyzing Raschke's works on heavy metal, scholar Robert Walser (2013) says that "the terrorism of Raschke and similar critics depends upon two tactics: anecdote and insinuation. Raschke himself cites a group of sociologists of religion who determined that there was 'not a shred of evidence' that Satanism is a problem in America, directly contradicting the thesis of Rashke's book."

In an analysis of Raschke's role in adding fuel to the 1980s and early 1990s United States Satanic panic, scholar Eugene V. Gallagher (2004) notes that Raschke referred to critics of his works as "cult apologists" but says "the shrillness of Raschke's argument, however, ultimately fails to compensate for the paucity of evidence behind it". Scholars Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, and Jesper AA. Petersen (2015) provide examples of Raschke "quoting … misleadingly and out of context" and "hav[ing] forgotten all his academic training, and reverted, in a telling manner, to the folklore of evil". The scholars characterize Raschke as an "until-then well-reputed academic" (referring to the publication of Painted Black).

Bibliography

• Moral Action, God, and History in the Thought of Immanuel Kant. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1975.
• Religion and the Human Image. Editor and co-author with Mark C. Taylor and James Kirk. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
• The Bursting of New Wineskins: Religion and Culture at the End of Affluence. Pittsburgh, PA: Pickwick Press, 1978.
• The Alchemy of the Word. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1979. Republished with new introduction as The End of Theology. Denver: The Davies Group, 2000.
• The Interruption of Eternity. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980.
• Theological Thinking: An Inquiry. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988.
• Painted Black: From Drug Killings to Heavy Metal Music: The Alarming True Story of How Satanism Is Terrorizing Our Communities. New York: HarperSan Francisco, 1990. Paperback edition, Harper Collins, 1992.
• Fire and Roses: Postmodernity and the Thought of the Body. State University of New York Press, 1995.
• The Engendering God. Male and Female Faces of God. Co-authored with Susan D. Raschke. John Knox/Westminster, 1996.
• The End of Theology. Denver CO: The Davies Group Publishers, 2000.
• The Digital Revolution and the Coming of the Postmodern University. London: Routledge, 2002.
• The Next Reformation: Why Evangelicals Must Embrace Postmodernity. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Books, 2004.
• The Republic of Faith: The Search for Agreement Amid Diversity in American Religion (Religion in American Culture), The Davies Group Publishers, 2005
• GloboChrist: The Great Commission Takes a Postmodern Turn (The Church and Postmodern Culture), Baker Academic, 2008
• Postmodernism and the Revolution in Religious Theory: Toward a Semiotics of the Event, University of Virginia Press, 2012
• Force of God: Political Theology and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy, Columbia University Press, 2015

References

• Dyrendal, Asbjørn. Lewis, James R. Petersen, Jesper AA. 2015. The Invention of Satanism. Oxford University Press.
• Gallagher, Eugene V. 2004. The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Greenwood Publishing Group.
• Pike, Sarah M. 2012. "Wicca in the News" in Winston, Diane (editor). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media, pp. 289-303. Oxford University Press USA.
• Walter, Robert. 2013. Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Wesleyan University Press.

External links

• Carl Raschke's Professional Website
• Raschke at Department of Religious Studies