The religious sense of life

Abstract

In recent years Chile has experienced social and political processes of great importance. Among them is the social outburst of 2019 and the plebiscite of 2020 in which 78% of voters agreed to the drafting of a new constitution, and to have it drawn up by a Constituent Convention specially elected for this purpose. In the coming years, Chile's future will be largely conditioned by this constituent process and the new Constitution that results from it. Among the many issues that will be the subject of dialogue and deliberation is the question of the place of religion in the new constitution. In this regard, this article proposes a reflection of an issue preceding legal-constitutional definitions; namely a reflection on the question of the religious meaning of life. Without this reflection, deliberation could be limited to the incorporation, or not, of certain rights, such as religious freedom, worship and education, among others, without first addressing the reasons why such discussion is important in the constituent process. After an introduction, the article proposes to think of religion at five different levels: religion in its existential dimension; religion in its anthropological dimension; religion as a transcendental dimension; religion in its political dimension; and, finally, a consideration of religion in its strategic dimension. In conclusion, the article derives some consequences from attention to these five dimensions of the religious sense of life.