Religio today. The concept of religion in Martin Buber's thought

The aim of my contribution is to bring out the originality and contemporary relevance of Buber’s concept of religion. First, I shall try to show how original this concept is compared with the meanings that have been given to the Latin term religio in the history of thought and culture. This term has been adopted by various European languages: in present usage, the German word Religion, English religion, French religion, Spanish religión, and Italian religione have the same meaning the Latin term religio had. Therefore, probing the denotations attributed to the original Latin term perforce entails pondering the phenomenon of religion in present day Europe and in all the societies influenced by European culture – from Western to Eastern countries. Second, I shall try to show how relevant Buber’s concept of religion is for us, given the often unfortunate consequences religio, if characterized by violence and intolerance, has.