The case of Pastor Adler and the Antichrist: the philosophy of religion between Kierkegaard and Nietzsche

Abstract

This article discusses the relation between Kierkegaard and Nietzsche by developing a comparison between Kierkegaard’s Book on Adler and Nietzsche’s Antichrist, in order to show both the similarities and dissimilarities between the two philosophers regarding both Christianity and what Kierkegaard called Christendom. In this sense, the characterization of modernity as a period of spiritual decadence – a theme developed in various works by Kierkegaard and Nietzsche – is of particular interest, in spite of the different solutions proposed by the philosophers for this malady. Thus, an analysis of these two different views of the fate or future of Christianity proves to be very important for philosophy of religion and ethics. Key words: Adler, Antichrist, Christianity, Christendom, modernity, decadence.