Download or read book Civil Religion written by Ronald Beiner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-25 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civil Religion offers philosophical commentaries on more than twenty thinkers stretching from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. It examines four important traditions within the history of modern political philosophy. The civil religion tradition, principally defined by Machiavelli, Hobbes and Rousseau, seeks to domesticate religion by putting it solidly in the service of politics. The liberal tradition pursues an alternative strategy of domestication by seeking to put as much distance as possible between religion and politics. Modern theocracy is a militant reaction against liberalism, reversing the relationship of subordination asserted by civil religion. Finally, a fourth tradition is defined by Nietzsche and Heidegger. Aspects of their thought are not just modern, but hyper-modern, yet they manifest an often-hysterical reaction against liberalism that is fundamentally shared with the theocratic tradition. Together, these four traditions compose a vital dialogue that carries us to the heart of political philosophy itself.
Download or read book Varieties of Civil Religion written by Robert N. Bellah and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In 1980, Varieties of Civil Religion was the latest statement in the field of civil religion pioneered by Robert Bellah. Over thirty years later, scholarly interest in the field continues to grow. By examining the force of religion in politics and society, this book offers a comparative treatment that deepens the understanding of American civil religion and provides a lens for exploring civil religion in other societies, particularly those of Italy, Mexico, and Japan. Bellah and Hammond trace the historical development of the peculiarly American brand of civil religion as they unravel its sometimes baffling intricacies. Themes include the conviction that America is a chosen country and American power in the world is identical with divine will. The book also examines the vigorous counterbalance that has opposed unjust wars or demanded racial and social justice. Altogether, the health of a civil religion may be a prime indication of the overall health of any society. The authors state that when civil religious symbols are co-opted by ultraconservatives, and the philosophy of liberalism seems less adequate as a guide for public or private lives, a revival of public philosophy is urgently needed. Varieties of Civil Religion supports such a revival by making the religious aspect of our central tradition understandable in a nonreactionary way. It also reaffirms that American civil religion, with its deeper tradition of openness, tolerance, and ethical commitment, can make an essential contribution to a ""global order of civility and justice."""
Download or read book God and War written by Raymond Haberski, Jr. and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-23 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans have long considered their country to be good—a nation "under God" with a profound role to play in the world. Yet nothing tests that proposition like war. Raymond Haberski argues that since 1945 the common moral assumptions expressed in an American civil religion have become increasingly defined by the nation's experience with war. God and War traces how three great postwar “trials”—the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the War on Terror—have revealed the promise and perils of an American civil religion. Throughout the Cold War, Americans combined faith in God and faith in the nation to struggle against not only communism but their own internal demons. The Vietnam War tested whether America remained a nation "under God," inspiring, somewhat ironically, an awakening among a group of religious, intellectual and political leaders to save the nation's soul. With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 behind us and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, Americans might now explore whether civil religion can exist apart from the power of war to affirm the value of the nation to its people and the world.
Download or read book Become America written by Eric Liu and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review New and Noteworthy Book Washington State Book Award Winner Silver Nautilus Book Award Winner “This collection of essays exhorts Americans to love the nation they have by becoming the nation they want.” —The Washington Post What does it mean to be an engaged American in today’s divided political landscape, and how do we restore hope in our country? In a collection of “civic sermons” delivered at gatherings around the nation, popular advocate for active citizenship Eric Liu takes on these thorny questions and provides inspiration and solace in a time of anger, fear, and dismay over the state of the Union. Here are 19 stirring explorations of current and timeless topics about democracy, liberty, equal justice, and powerful citizenship. This book will energize you to get involved, in ways both large and small, to help rebuild a country that you’re proud to call home. Become America will challenge you to rehumanize our politics and rekindle a spirit of love in civic life.
Download or read book American Covenant written by Philip Gorski and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American story Was America founded as a Christian nation or a secular democracy? Neither, argues Philip Gorski in American Covenant. What the founders envisioned was a prophetic republic that would weave together the ethical vision of the Hebrew prophets and the Western political heritage of civic republicanism. In this eye-opening book, Gorski shows why this civil religious tradition is now in peril—and with it the American experiment. American Covenant traces the history of prophetic republicanism from the Puritan era to today, providing insightful portraits of figures ranging from John Winthrop and W.E.B. Du Bois to Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. Featuring a new preface by the author, this incisive book demonstrates how half a century of culture war has drowned out the quieter voices of the vital center, and demonstrates that if we are to rebuild that center, we must recover the civil religious tradition on which the republic was founded.
Download or read book The Tragedy of U S Foreign Policy written by Walter A. McDougall and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-22 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fierce critique of civil religion as the taproot of America’s bid for global hegemony Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Walter A. McDougall argues powerfully that a pervasive but radically changing faith that “God is on our side” has inspired U.S. foreign policy ever since 1776. The first comprehensive study of the role played by civil religion in U.S. foreign relations over the entire course of the country’s history, McDougall’s book explores the deeply infused religious rhetoric that has sustained and driven an otherwise secular republic through peace, war, and global interventions for more than two hundred years. From the Founding Fathers and the crusade for independence to the Monroe Doctrine, through World Wars I and II and the decades-long Cold War campaign against “godless Communism,” this coruscating polemic reveals the unacknowledged but freely exercised dogmas of civil religion that bind together a “God blessed” America, sustaining the nation in its pursuit of an ever elusive global destiny.
Download or read book The Civic Life of American Religion written by Paul Lichterman and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents lively, research-based essays by premier social scientists on the positive and negative roles of religious groups in American public life.
Download or read book Socialism The New American Civil Religion Form 05 016 written by Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry (SEDM) and published by Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry (SEDM). This book was released on 2020-02-06 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proves that government has become a false god and an idol in modern society in violation of the First Amendment. For reasons why NONE of our materials may legally be censored and violate NO Google policies, see: https://sedm.org/why-our-materials-cannot-legally-be-censored/
Download or read book The New Civic Religion written by Patrick Sookhdeo and published by . This book was released on 2016-06-15 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new civic religion is the greatest threat to the Church today. Dr Patrick Sookhdeo reveals how a Christian moral basis for society has been eroded by an aggressive, hedonistic and sometimes fanatical secularism. He offers a highly readable account of the serious challenge these humanist beliefs are posing to the church. He outlines resources to help Christian respond to the challenges of the new civic religion. This book includes ideal study material for group use.
Download or read book The Broken Covenant written by Robert Neelly Bellah and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book American Civil Religion written by Peter Gardella and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Gardella explores the monuments, texts, and images that embody the spirit of the United States.
Download or read book For the Civic Good written by Walter Feinberg and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2014-01-28 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A case for teaching classes on world religion and the Bible in public schools
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Christianity written by John H. Arnold and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Christianity takes as its subject the beliefs, practices, and institutions of the Christian Church between 400 and 1500AD. It addresses topics ranging from early medieval monasticism to late medieval mysticism, from the material wealth of the Church to the spiritual exercises through which certain believers might attempt to improve their souls. Each chapter tells a story, but seeks also to ask how and why 'Christianity' took particular forms at particular moments in history, paying attention to both the spiritual and otherwordly aspects of religion, and the material and political contexts in which they were often embedded. This Handbook is a landmark academic collection that presents cutting-edge interpretive perspectives on medieval religion for a wide academic audience, drawing together thirty key scholars in the field from the United States, the UK, and Europe. Notably, the Handbook is arranged thematically, and focusses on an analytical, rather than narrative, approach, seeking to demonstrate the variety, change, and complexity of religion throughout this long period, and the numerous different ways in which modern scholarship can approach it. While providing a very wide-ranging view of the subject, it also offers an important agenda for further study in the field.
Download or read book Civic Rites written by Nancy Evans and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-05-03 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civic Rites explores the religious origins of Western democracy by examining the government of fifth-century BCE Athens in the larger context of ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Deftly combining history, politics, and religion to weave together stories of democracy’s first leaders and critics, Nancy Evans gives readers a contemporary’s perspective on Athenian society. She vividly depicts the physical environment and the ancestral rituals that nourished the people of the earliest democratic state, demonstrating how religious concerns were embedded in Athenian governmental processes. The book’s lucid portrayals of the best-known Athenian festivals—honoring Athena, Demeter, and Dionysus—offer a balanced view of Athenian ritual and illustrate the range of such customs in fifth-century Athens.
Download or read book The New Religious Intolerance written by Martha C. Nussbaum and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What impulse prompted some newspapers to attribute the murder of 77 Norwegians to Islamic extremists, until it became evident that a right-wing Norwegian terrorist was the perpetrator? Why did Switzerland, a country of four minarets, vote to ban those structures? How did a proposed Muslim cultural center in lower Manhattan ignite a fevered political debate across the United States? In The New Religious Intolerance, Martha C. Nussbaum surveys such developments and identifies the fear behind these reactions. Drawing inspiration from philosophy, history, and literature, she suggests a route past this limiting response and toward a more equitable, imaginative, and free society. Fear, Nussbaum writes, is "more narcissistic than other emotions." Legitimate anxieties become distorted and displaced, driving laws and policies biased against those different from us. Overcoming intolerance requires consistent application of universal principles of respect for conscience. Just as important, it requires greater understanding. Nussbaum challenges us to embrace freedom of religious observance for all, extending to others what we demand for ourselves. She encourages us to expand our capacity for empathetic imagination by cultivating our curiosity, seeking friendship across religious lines, and establishing a consistent ethic of decency and civility. With this greater understanding and respect, Nussbaum argues, we can rise above the politics of fear and toward a more open and inclusive future.
Download or read book The Gods the State and the Individual written by John Scheid and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2015-12-11 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roman religion has long presented a number of challenges to historians approaching the subject from a perspective framed by the three Abrahamic religions. The Romans had no sacred text that espoused its creed or offered a portrait of its foundational myth. They described relations with the divine using technical terms widely employed to describe relations with other humans. Indeed, there was not even a word in classical Latin that corresponds to the English word religion. In The Gods, the State, and the Individual, John Scheid confronts these and other challenges directly. If Roman religious practice has long been dismissed as a cynical or naïve system of borrowed structures unmarked by any true piety, Scheid contends that this is the result of a misplaced expectation that the basis of religion lies in an individual's personal and revelatory relationship with his or her god. He argues that when viewed in the light of secular history as opposed to Christian theology, Roman religion emerges as a legitimate phenomenon in which rituals, both public and private, enforced a sense of communal, civic, and state identity. Since the 1970s, Scheid has been one of the most influential figures reshaping scholarly understanding of ancient Roman religion. The Gods, the State, and the Individual presents a translation of Scheid's work that chronicles the development of his field-changing scholarship.
Download or read book Pews Prayers and Participation written by Corwin E. Smidt and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Pews, Prayers, and Participation: Religion and Civic Responsibility in America" offers a fresh approach to key questions about what role religion plays in fostering civic responsibility in contemporary American society. In the course of their study the authors examine whether an individual exhibits a diminished, a privatized, a public, or an integrated form of religious expression, based on the individual's level of participation in both the public (worship) or private (prayer) dimensions of religious life. They question whether the privatization of religious life is counterproductive to engagement in public life, and they show that religion does indeed play a significant role in fostering civic responsibility across each of its particular facets.--From publisher description.
