Ludger H. Viefhues-Bailey is the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Gender, and Culture at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.

Ludger works in the fields of Philosophy of Religion and Political Theology by integrating philosophical modes of analysis with those pertaining to gender/sexuality and cultural studies. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2001 and taught in the Religious Studies Department at Yale University from 2001-2010. He is a faculty affiliate of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University.

Interests

Political Theology

Gender & Sexuality

Philosophy of Religion

Political Philosophy

Wittgenstein and Cavell

Education

PhD in the Study of Religion, 2001
Harvard University

Diplomtheologe (M.Div.), 1994 Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen

No Separation examines recent conflicts that link national identity, religion, and sexuality: debates over Muslim veiling practices in Germany, same-sex marriage in France, and migration and abortion in the United States. In each case, illiberal Christianities portray popular sovereignty as threatened at the same time as they display an obsessive concern with the politics of sex and reproduction. Underlying these conflicts, No Separation shows, is the fundamental tension of democracy—who belongs to “the People.” Viefhues-Bailey argues that when secularism and democracy meet, cultural religions appear, seeking control over women’s bodies, national borders, and the racialized reproduction of the People in defense of the ideal of popular sovereignty.

Connecting political theology, political philosophy, and the sociology of religion with gender and sexuality studies, No Separation is a deeply original analysis of the crisis of democracy and the limitations of secularism. It also suggests alternative ways of imagining the People, proposing a more humane vision of borders, sexualities, and social bonds.

Through a probing investigation of conservative Christianity and its response to an issue that, according to the statistics of conservative Christian groups, affects only a small number of Americans, Ludger Viefhues-Bailey alights on a profound theological conundrum: in today's conservative Christian movement, both sexes are called upon to be at once assertive and submissive, masculine and feminine, not only within the home but also within the church, society, and the state. Therefore the arguments of conservative Christians against same-sex marriage involve more than literal readings of the Bible or nostalgia for simple gender roles.

Based on a detailed analysis of gender in Stanley Cavell's treatment of the skeptical problem, this book addresses the relationship between gender and religion in modern skepticism. Engaging in dialogue with Julia Kristeva's philosophy, Viefhues claims that a religious problem underlies Cavell's understanding of the feminine. The feminine which the skeptic fears is construed as a placeholder for the beyond, marking the transcendence of our origins which are elusive yet at the same time part of ourselves. It is argued that a religious question of origins thus lies at the heart of the modern skeptical problem.



Selected Publications on Political Theology, Sexuality & Secularism

“Queering Populism by Queering Chantal Mouffe” in: The Spirit of Populism: Political Theologies in Polarized Times, Ulrich Schmiedel (Ed), (Leiden, Brill: 2021), pp. 164-176.

“Queering Justice Thomas: Theories of Dignity in Obergefell. Law, Culture and the Humanities, 2018, (14.3) 365–379

“Looking forward to a New Heaven and a New Earth where American Greatness Dwells. Trumpism’s Political Theology.” Political Theology, 2017, (18.3) 194-200.

“Introduction: Is the Postcolonial Postsecular?” Critical Research on Religion April 2015 (Volume III, Issue 1): 13-24

“Can the post-colonial be post-religious? Reflections from the Secular Metropolis” Critical Research on Religion April 2015 (Volume III, Issue 1): 101-117

“Holiness Sex: Conservative Christian Sex Practices as Acts of Sanctification,” Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality (JMMS), Vol. 6, No. 1, January 2012 4-19

Selected Public-Facing Essays