1) Discuss the significance of the bridge from transcendence to immanence in the study of religion, the shift from Stage 1 to Stage 2. Who were the key figures in this development and how did they engineer a new approach to studying religion?

Hegel’s rejection of Kant

The shift from transcendence to immanence begins with Hegel. After Kant, who separated faith completely from the realm of knowledge, Hegel tried to pull them back into the same sphere. He rejected Kant’s compartmentalized perspective and argued that the connection of social forces is what reveals the Absolute (God), a process he called The Dialectic. This turn away from alienation and towards reconciliation of concepts pioneered by Hegel is what marks the beginning of the focus on immanence, as Hegel submits that all concepts that are immanent contribute to the revelation of the Absolute.

Feuerbach

He argues that God and humanity are identical. This is presented through his Theory of Projection, wherein he submits that notions of the divine and God are just projections of human values onto an independent force. As such, he continues the shift to immanence as he argues that God is immanent and created by humanity. He also represents broader and novel religious criticisms emerging in the 19th century, as he explains religion as something inherently not religious (a mere projection of values).

Marx

Brings the movement to immanence to a climax as he agrees with Hegel that religion is man made, and describes it as critically intertwined with politics,  a tool weaponized by the bourgeois to sedate and oppress the proletariat. As such, he not only criticizes religion but finalizes the shift to immanence, describing it as inextricably connected to societal structures.

Significance of the bridge from transcendence to immanence

This shift is important in the study of religion because the novel thought of the Absolute or God existing within society or societal framework moved the study of religions towards an anthropological study. A larger focus expanded on different aspects of societies that contribute to their respective religions/beliefs that stemmed from the broader themes of reconciliation and immanence that were not present before.