Sunday, November 14, 2004
A CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE ON PERENNIALISM
In searching the web for any indication that Catholic organizations devoted to interreligious dialogue are sympathetic to the theories of Rene Guenon, I failed to find any. In fact, there is little in Catholic forums that even discuss these ideas. I did find the following...
Peter A. Kwasniewski, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, addresses directly the claims of Guenon, Schuon, and Burkhardt in a paper at Catholic.net, titled "Many Religions, One True Faith":
The other extreme, and a far more dangerous one, is that all religions are equal guardians of "primeval truth," all of them pointing to the one Absolute beyond their competing absolute claims—which, in its simplistic form, is the indifferentism of the 18th century philosophers, but in its sophisticated form is the so-called "perennialism" of a body of 20th century thinkers like Frithjof Schuon, René Guénon, and Titus Burckhardt, who claimed to have glimpsed what they called "the transcendental unity of all religions." According to the perennialist, each historical religion seems to be exclusive and irreducible in its unique content, but in fact, all of the religions are so many diverse mediators or symbolic languages straddling the abyss between man and the Absolute, and may thus be "ranked," as it were, according to the more or less perfect metaphysical insight they contain in a veiled form. Nevertheless, the "Absolute" invoked by perennialism also involves a "leap of faith," but of a peculiarly profane character: it demands faith in a totalizing rationalism whereby one believes that human thought (dressed, it is true, in the beautiful finery of mysticism and symbolism) can attain the ultimate synthesis, can discern from afar the ancient unity behind expressly contradictory statements of great world-religions. This view is a warmed-over presentation of the Hegelian quest for absolute knowledge or gnosis. In the philosophy of Hegel, ontology is reduced to epistemology, to the perfection of human reason divinized into Absolute Spirit, in which man attains salvation after the struggles of the dialectical clash and overcoming of contradictions. The difference between Hegel and the perennialist (and it is enough to deceive even the elect) is that the perennialist dwells in the incense cloud of symbolism and mystical experience, giving a glow of religious authenticity to the skeletal Hegelianism whose fallaciousness is evident to a believer in genuine divine revelation.
Seems to be fairly clear - there is no way that a Catholic can reconcile Perennialism with Catholic theology. They are in direct opposition. One says that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God, unique in the history of humanity. The other says that the heart of all religions is the same (thus implying that all Gods are equal). That would help to explain why I am finding so much attention being paid to Rene Guenon in Masonic Lodge websites.
Speaking of which, here is another one that - Logia Fraternidad Mediterranea No. 94. In there is a list of "Bibliografia Masonica which includes materials by Guenon has his own section. Others listed include Schuon, Evola, Whitall Perry, Gershom Scholem, and Jocelyn Godwin. There is an "Introduction to Traditional Cosmology" by Arthur Versluis. "Sophia Perennis" is mentioned in the entry for "Manifesto Geosofico".
Interestingly, this website also lists the Grand Masters of the Templars beginning in 1118 with Hugh de Payens, and running through 1838 Bernard Raymond Fabre Palaprat, an occultist mentioned in this website on Martinism.
A Masonic website that is devoted to symbolism includes Guenon as well. You will also find in the list Perennialist Whitall N. Perry's "A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom" as well as Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh's "The Temple and the Lodge." Occultist A. E. Waite also makes the list.
