Hegel and vocation : beyond a sacred-secular divide

This chapter asks whether the use of an oppositional hermeneutic in positing sacred and secular realms is helpful for Christian self-understanding, particularly in the narratives used within contemporary Christian communities. It explores potential dynamics and implications present in making use of such a point of reference through three theological forays, which draw on the work of G. W. F. Hegel. These forays consider first, the role of demarcation and distinction in understanding identity; second, the way in which a christological lens (here considering Christ as both fulfilment and end of law) is able to move Christian thought beyond an oppositional stance toward the secular; and third, the way in which Hegel’s understanding of objective right (as part of his tripartite understanding of self-knowing spirit) illuminates the role of secular social structures in human life, thereby highlighting the importance of Christian engagement beyond sacred–secular dualities. By reworking particular conceptual boundaries and by gently addressing tacit anxieties that diminish the secular by contrast to the sacred, this piece seeks to encourage vocational commitment and aspiration as an expression of shared striving toward human flourishing.