Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy

Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy

Author: Robert Wuthnow

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-09-07

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0691222649

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How the actions and advocacy of diverse religious communities in the United States have supported democracy’s development during the past century Does religion benefit democracy? Robert Wuthnow says yes. In Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy, Wuthnow makes his case by moving beyond the focus on unifying values or narratives about culture wars and elections. Rather, he demonstrates that the beneficial contributions of religion are best understood through the lens of religious diversity. The religious composition of the United States comprises many groups, organizations, and individuals that vigorously, and sometimes aggressively, contend for what they believe to be good and true. Unwelcome as this contention can be, it is rarely extremist, violent, or autocratic. Instead, it brings alternative and innovative perspectives to the table, forcing debates about what it means to be a democracy. Wuthnow shows how American religious diversity works by closely investigating religious advocacy spanning the past century: during the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the debates about welfare reform, the recent struggles for immigrant rights and economic equality, and responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The engagement of religious groups in advocacy and counteradvocacy has sharpened arguments about authoritarianism, liberty of conscience, freedom of assembly, human dignity, citizens’ rights, equality, and public health. Wuthnow hones in on key principles of democratic governance and provides a hopeful yet realistic appraisal of what religion can and cannot achieve. At a time when many observers believe American democracy to be in dire need of revitalization, Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy illustrates how religious groups have contributed to this end and how they might continue to do so despite the many challenges faced by the nation.


Book Synopsis Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy by : Robert Wuthnow

Download or read book Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy written by Robert Wuthnow and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the actions and advocacy of diverse religious communities in the United States have supported democracy’s development during the past century Does religion benefit democracy? Robert Wuthnow says yes. In Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy, Wuthnow makes his case by moving beyond the focus on unifying values or narratives about culture wars and elections. Rather, he demonstrates that the beneficial contributions of religion are best understood through the lens of religious diversity. The religious composition of the United States comprises many groups, organizations, and individuals that vigorously, and sometimes aggressively, contend for what they believe to be good and true. Unwelcome as this contention can be, it is rarely extremist, violent, or autocratic. Instead, it brings alternative and innovative perspectives to the table, forcing debates about what it means to be a democracy. Wuthnow shows how American religious diversity works by closely investigating religious advocacy spanning the past century: during the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the debates about welfare reform, the recent struggles for immigrant rights and economic equality, and responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The engagement of religious groups in advocacy and counteradvocacy has sharpened arguments about authoritarianism, liberty of conscience, freedom of assembly, human dignity, citizens’ rights, equality, and public health. Wuthnow hones in on key principles of democratic governance and provides a hopeful yet realistic appraisal of what religion can and cannot achieve. At a time when many observers believe American democracy to be in dire need of revitalization, Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy illustrates how religious groups have contributed to this end and how they might continue to do so despite the many challenges faced by the nation.

Imagining Judeo-Christian America

Imagining Judeo-Christian America

Author: K. Healan Gaston

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2019-11-15

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 022666399X

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“Judeo-Christian” is a remarkably easy term to look right through. Judaism and Christianity obviously share tenets, texts, and beliefs that have strongly influenced American democracy. In this ambitious book, however, K. Healan Gaston challenges the myth of a monolithic Judeo-Christian America. She demonstrates that the idea is not only a recent and deliberate construct, but also a potentially dangerous one. From the time of its widespread adoption in the 1930s, the ostensible inclusiveness of Judeo-Christian terminology concealed efforts to promote particular conceptions of religion, secularism, and politics. Gaston also shows that this new language, originally rooted in arguments over the nature of democracy that intensified in the early Cold War years, later became a marker in the culture wars that continue today. She argues that the debate on what constituted Judeo-Christian—and American—identity has shaped the country’s religious and political culture much more extensively than previously recognized.


Book Synopsis Imagining Judeo-Christian America by : K. Healan Gaston

Download or read book Imagining Judeo-Christian America written by K. Healan Gaston and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-11-15 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Judeo-Christian” is a remarkably easy term to look right through. Judaism and Christianity obviously share tenets, texts, and beliefs that have strongly influenced American democracy. In this ambitious book, however, K. Healan Gaston challenges the myth of a monolithic Judeo-Christian America. She demonstrates that the idea is not only a recent and deliberate construct, but also a potentially dangerous one. From the time of its widespread adoption in the 1930s, the ostensible inclusiveness of Judeo-Christian terminology concealed efforts to promote particular conceptions of religion, secularism, and politics. Gaston also shows that this new language, originally rooted in arguments over the nature of democracy that intensified in the early Cold War years, later became a marker in the culture wars that continue today. She argues that the debate on what constituted Judeo-Christian—and American—identity has shaped the country’s religious and political culture much more extensively than previously recognized.

Religion and Democracy in the United States

Religion and Democracy in the United States

Author: Alan Wolfe

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2010-08-30

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1400836778

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The United States remains a deeply religious country and religion plays an inextricably critical role in American politics. Controversy over issues such as abortion is fueled by opposition in the Catholic Church and among conservative Protestants, candidates for the presidency are questioned about their religious beliefs, and the separation of church and state remains hotly contested. While the examination of religion's influence in politics has long been neglected, in the last decade the subject has finally garnered the attention it deserves. In Religion and Democracy in the United States, prominent scholars consider the ways Americans understand the relationship between their religious beliefs and the political arena. This collection, a work of the Task Force on Religion and American Democracy of the American Political Science Association, thoughtfully explores the effects of religion on democracy and contemporary partisan politics. Topics include how religious diversity affects American democracy, how religion is implicated in America's partisan battles, and how religion affects ideas about race, ethnicity, and gender. Surveying what we currently know about religion and American politics, the essays introduce and delve into the range of current issues for both specialists and nonspecialists. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Allison Calhoun-Brown, Rosa DeLauro, Bette Novit Evans, James Gibson, John Green, Frederick Harris, Amaney Jamal, Geoffrey Layman, David Leal, David Leege, Nancy Rosenblum, Kenneth Wald, and Clyde Wilcox.


Book Synopsis Religion and Democracy in the United States by : Alan Wolfe

Download or read book Religion and Democracy in the United States written by Alan Wolfe and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-08-30 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States remains a deeply religious country and religion plays an inextricably critical role in American politics. Controversy over issues such as abortion is fueled by opposition in the Catholic Church and among conservative Protestants, candidates for the presidency are questioned about their religious beliefs, and the separation of church and state remains hotly contested. While the examination of religion's influence in politics has long been neglected, in the last decade the subject has finally garnered the attention it deserves. In Religion and Democracy in the United States, prominent scholars consider the ways Americans understand the relationship between their religious beliefs and the political arena. This collection, a work of the Task Force on Religion and American Democracy of the American Political Science Association, thoughtfully explores the effects of religion on democracy and contemporary partisan politics. Topics include how religious diversity affects American democracy, how religion is implicated in America's partisan battles, and how religion affects ideas about race, ethnicity, and gender. Surveying what we currently know about religion and American politics, the essays introduce and delve into the range of current issues for both specialists and nonspecialists. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Allison Calhoun-Brown, Rosa DeLauro, Bette Novit Evans, James Gibson, John Green, Frederick Harris, Amaney Jamal, Geoffrey Layman, David Leal, David Leege, Nancy Rosenblum, Kenneth Wald, and Clyde Wilcox.

The Religion of Democracy

The Religion of Democracy

Author: Amy Kittelstrom

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 1594204853

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The first people in the world to call themselves 'liberals' were New England Christians in the early republic, for whom being liberal meant being receptive to a range of beliefs and values. The story begins in the mid-eighteenth century, when the first Boston liberals brought the Enlightenment into Reformation Christianity, tying equality and liberty to the human soul at the same moment these root concepts were being tied to democracy. The nineteenth century saw the development of a robust liberal intellectual culture in America, built on open-minded pursuit of truth and acceptance of human diversity. By the twentieth century, what had begun in Boston as a narrow, patrician democracy transformed into a religion of democracy in which the new liberals of modern America believed that where different viewpoints overlap, common truth is revealed. The core American principles of liberty and equality were never free from religion but full of religion.


Book Synopsis The Religion of Democracy by : Amy Kittelstrom

Download or read book The Religion of Democracy written by Amy Kittelstrom and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first people in the world to call themselves 'liberals' were New England Christians in the early republic, for whom being liberal meant being receptive to a range of beliefs and values. The story begins in the mid-eighteenth century, when the first Boston liberals brought the Enlightenment into Reformation Christianity, tying equality and liberty to the human soul at the same moment these root concepts were being tied to democracy. The nineteenth century saw the development of a robust liberal intellectual culture in America, built on open-minded pursuit of truth and acceptance of human diversity. By the twentieth century, what had begun in Boston as a narrow, patrician democracy transformed into a religion of democracy in which the new liberals of modern America believed that where different viewpoints overlap, common truth is revealed. The core American principles of liberty and equality were never free from religion but full of religion.

Christianity and American Democracy

Christianity and American Democracy

Author: Hugh Heclo

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0674027051

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Exploring the tension at the heart of America’s culture wars, this is “a very fine book on a very important subject” (Mark A. Noll, author of The Civil War as a Theological Crisis). Christianity, not religion in general, has been important for American democracy. With this bold thesis, Hugh Heclo offers a panoramic view of how Christianity and democracy have shaped each other. Heclo shows that amid deeply felt religious differences, a Protestant colonial society gradually convinced itself of the truly Christian reasons for, as well as the enlightened political advantages of, religious liberty. By the mid-twentieth century, American democracy and Christianity appeared locked in a mutual embrace. But it was a problematic union vulnerable to fundamental challenge in the Sixties. Despite the subsequent rise of the religious right and glib talk of a conservative Republican theocracy, Heclo sees a longer-term, reciprocal estrangement between Christianity and American democracy. Responding to his challenging argument, Mary Jo Bane, Michael Kazin, and Alan Wolfe criticize, qualify, and amend it. Heclo’s rejoinder suggests why both secularists and Christians should worry about a coming rupture between the Christian and democratic faiths. The result is a lively debate about a momentous tension in American public life.


Book Synopsis Christianity and American Democracy by : Hugh Heclo

Download or read book Christianity and American Democracy written by Hugh Heclo and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the tension at the heart of America’s culture wars, this is “a very fine book on a very important subject” (Mark A. Noll, author of The Civil War as a Theological Crisis). Christianity, not religion in general, has been important for American democracy. With this bold thesis, Hugh Heclo offers a panoramic view of how Christianity and democracy have shaped each other. Heclo shows that amid deeply felt religious differences, a Protestant colonial society gradually convinced itself of the truly Christian reasons for, as well as the enlightened political advantages of, religious liberty. By the mid-twentieth century, American democracy and Christianity appeared locked in a mutual embrace. But it was a problematic union vulnerable to fundamental challenge in the Sixties. Despite the subsequent rise of the religious right and glib talk of a conservative Republican theocracy, Heclo sees a longer-term, reciprocal estrangement between Christianity and American democracy. Responding to his challenging argument, Mary Jo Bane, Michael Kazin, and Alan Wolfe criticize, qualify, and amend it. Heclo’s rejoinder suggests why both secularists and Christians should worry about a coming rupture between the Christian and democratic faiths. The result is a lively debate about a momentous tension in American public life.

Religion, Politics, and Polarization

Religion, Politics, and Polarization

Author: William V. D'Antonio

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published: 2013-06-20

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1442221089

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Do the religious affiliations of elected officials shape the way they vote on such key issues as abortion, homosexuality, defense spending, taxes, and welfare spending? In Religion, Politics, and Polarization: How Religiopolitical Conflict is Changing Congress and American Democracy,William D’Antonio, Steven A. Tuch and Josiah R. Baker trace the influence of religion and party in the U.S. Congress over time. For almost four decades these key issues have competed for public attention with health care, war, terrorism, and the growing inequity between the incomes of the middle classes and those of corporate America. The authors examine several contemporary issues and trace the increasing polarization in Congress. They examine whether abortion, defense and welfare spending, and taxes are uniquely polarizing or, rather, models of a more general pattern of increasing ideological division in the U.S. Congress. By examining the impact of religion on these key issues the authors effectively address the question of how the various religious denominations have shaped the House and Senate. Throughout the book they draw on key roll call votes, survey data, and extensive background research to argue that the political ideologies of both parties have become grounded in distinctive religious visions of the good society, in turn influencing the voting patterns of elected officials.


Book Synopsis Religion, Politics, and Polarization by : William V. D'Antonio

Download or read book Religion, Politics, and Polarization written by William V. D'Antonio and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2013-06-20 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do the religious affiliations of elected officials shape the way they vote on such key issues as abortion, homosexuality, defense spending, taxes, and welfare spending? In Religion, Politics, and Polarization: How Religiopolitical Conflict is Changing Congress and American Democracy,William D’Antonio, Steven A. Tuch and Josiah R. Baker trace the influence of religion and party in the U.S. Congress over time. For almost four decades these key issues have competed for public attention with health care, war, terrorism, and the growing inequity between the incomes of the middle classes and those of corporate America. The authors examine several contemporary issues and trace the increasing polarization in Congress. They examine whether abortion, defense and welfare spending, and taxes are uniquely polarizing or, rather, models of a more general pattern of increasing ideological division in the U.S. Congress. By examining the impact of religion on these key issues the authors effectively address the question of how the various religious denominations have shaped the House and Senate. Throughout the book they draw on key roll call votes, survey data, and extensive background research to argue that the political ideologies of both parties have become grounded in distinctive religious visions of the good society, in turn influencing the voting patterns of elected officials.

C Street

C Street

Author: Jeff Sharlet

Publisher: Univ. of Queensland Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0702238651

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'A gripping political thriller, a masterpiece of investigative journalism' Peter Manseau, author of Rag and Bone The secretive Christian fundamentalist group known as 'The Family' is leading a new crusade for 'God-led government'.Jeff Sharlet, authorThe Family (more than 100,000 copies sold worldwide), is the only journalist to have reported from insidethe organisation. The Family garnered intense media coverage in 2009 when theirtownhouse on Washington's C Street was central to three Republican sex scandals. Now Sharlet uncovers the convert efforts of C Street to transform the very fabric of Western democracy, with the Family, steeped in the influence and corruption usually associated with the notorious lobbing industry, fueling political fundamentalism from within government. When Barack Obama took office, headlines declared the age of culture wars over. In C Street, Sharlet show why these conflicts endure and why they matter now-from Uganda, where culture warriors are determined to eradicate homosexuality, to the battle for the soul of America's armed forces. Reporting with exclusive sources and explosives documents, Sharlet reveals the terrifying new front-lines of fundamentalism. PRAISE FOR THE FAMILY 'This expose of the hidden face of Christian fundamentalism is authoritative and alarming.' The Age 'One of the most compelling and brilliantly researched exposes you'll ever read.' Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Smile or Die


Book Synopsis C Street by : Jeff Sharlet

Download or read book C Street written by Jeff Sharlet and published by Univ. of Queensland Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A gripping political thriller, a masterpiece of investigative journalism' Peter Manseau, author of Rag and Bone The secretive Christian fundamentalist group known as 'The Family' is leading a new crusade for 'God-led government'.Jeff Sharlet, authorThe Family (more than 100,000 copies sold worldwide), is the only journalist to have reported from insidethe organisation. The Family garnered intense media coverage in 2009 when theirtownhouse on Washington's C Street was central to three Republican sex scandals. Now Sharlet uncovers the convert efforts of C Street to transform the very fabric of Western democracy, with the Family, steeped in the influence and corruption usually associated with the notorious lobbing industry, fueling political fundamentalism from within government. When Barack Obama took office, headlines declared the age of culture wars over. In C Street, Sharlet show why these conflicts endure and why they matter now-from Uganda, where culture warriors are determined to eradicate homosexuality, to the battle for the soul of America's armed forces. Reporting with exclusive sources and explosives documents, Sharlet reveals the terrifying new front-lines of fundamentalism. PRAISE FOR THE FAMILY 'This expose of the hidden face of Christian fundamentalism is authoritative and alarming.' The Age 'One of the most compelling and brilliantly researched exposes you'll ever read.' Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Smile or Die

Religion and Brazilian Democracy

Religion and Brazilian Democracy

Author: Amy Erica Smith

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-03-28

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 1108482112

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Evangelical and Catholic groups are transforming Brazilian politics. This book asks why, and what the consequences are for democracy.


Book Synopsis Religion and Brazilian Democracy by : Amy Erica Smith

Download or read book Religion and Brazilian Democracy written by Amy Erica Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-28 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evangelical and Catholic groups are transforming Brazilian politics. This book asks why, and what the consequences are for democracy.

Evangelicals and Democracy in America

Evangelicals and Democracy in America

Author: Steven G. Brint

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2011-09

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 0871540126

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Separation of church and state is a bedrock principal of American democracy, and so, too, is active citizen engagement. Since evangelicals comprise one of the largest and most vocal voting blocs in the United States, tensions and questions naturally arise. In the two-volume Evangelicals and Democracy in America, editors Steven Brint and Jean Reith Schroedel have assembled an authoritative collection of studies of the evangelical movement in America. Religion and Politics, the second volume of the set, focuses on the role of religious conservatives in party politics, the rhetoric evangelicals use to mobilize politically, and what the history of the evangelical movement reveals about where it may be going. Part I of Religion and Politics explores the role of evangelicals in electoral politics. Contributor Pippa Norris looks at evangelicals around the globe and finds that religiosity is a strong predictor of ideological leanings in industrialized countries. But the United States remains one of only a handful of post-industrial societies where religion plays a significant role in partisan politics. Other chapters look at voting trends, especially the growing number of higher-income evangelicals among Republican ranks, how voting is influenced both by "values" and race, and the management of the symbols and networks behind the electoral system of moral-values politics. Part II of the volume focuses on the mobilizing rhetoric of the Christian Right. Nathaniel Klemp and Stephen Macedo show how the rhetorical strategies of the Christian Right create powerful mobilizing narratives, but frequently fail to build broad enough coalitions to prevail in the pluralistic marketplace of ideas. Part III analyzes the cycles and evolution of the Christian Right. Kimberly Conger looks at the specific circumstances that have allowed evangelicals to become dominant in some Republican state party committees but not in others. D. Michael Lindsay examines the "elastic orthodoxy" that has allowed evangelicals to evolve into a formidable social and political force. The final chapter by Clyde Wilcox presents a new framework for understanding the relationship between the Christian Right and the GOP based on the ecological metaphor of co-evolution. With its companion volume on religion and society, this second volume of Evangelicals and Democracy in America offers the most complete examination yet of the social circumstances and political influence of the millions of Americans who are white evangelical Protestants. Understanding their history and prospects for the future is essential to forming a comprehensive picture of America today.


Book Synopsis Evangelicals and Democracy in America by : Steven G. Brint

Download or read book Evangelicals and Democracy in America written by Steven G. Brint and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Separation of church and state is a bedrock principal of American democracy, and so, too, is active citizen engagement. Since evangelicals comprise one of the largest and most vocal voting blocs in the United States, tensions and questions naturally arise. In the two-volume Evangelicals and Democracy in America, editors Steven Brint and Jean Reith Schroedel have assembled an authoritative collection of studies of the evangelical movement in America. Religion and Politics, the second volume of the set, focuses on the role of religious conservatives in party politics, the rhetoric evangelicals use to mobilize politically, and what the history of the evangelical movement reveals about where it may be going. Part I of Religion and Politics explores the role of evangelicals in electoral politics. Contributor Pippa Norris looks at evangelicals around the globe and finds that religiosity is a strong predictor of ideological leanings in industrialized countries. But the United States remains one of only a handful of post-industrial societies where religion plays a significant role in partisan politics. Other chapters look at voting trends, especially the growing number of higher-income evangelicals among Republican ranks, how voting is influenced both by "values" and race, and the management of the symbols and networks behind the electoral system of moral-values politics. Part II of the volume focuses on the mobilizing rhetoric of the Christian Right. Nathaniel Klemp and Stephen Macedo show how the rhetorical strategies of the Christian Right create powerful mobilizing narratives, but frequently fail to build broad enough coalitions to prevail in the pluralistic marketplace of ideas. Part III analyzes the cycles and evolution of the Christian Right. Kimberly Conger looks at the specific circumstances that have allowed evangelicals to become dominant in some Republican state party committees but not in others. D. Michael Lindsay examines the "elastic orthodoxy" that has allowed evangelicals to evolve into a formidable social and political force. The final chapter by Clyde Wilcox presents a new framework for understanding the relationship between the Christian Right and the GOP based on the ecological metaphor of co-evolution. With its companion volume on religion and society, this second volume of Evangelicals and Democracy in America offers the most complete examination yet of the social circumstances and political influence of the millions of Americans who are white evangelical Protestants. Understanding their history and prospects for the future is essential to forming a comprehensive picture of America today.

American Grace

American Grace

Author: Robert D. Putnam

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-02-21

Total Pages: 720

ISBN-13: 1416566732

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Draws on three national surveys on religion, as well as research conducted by congregations across the United States, to examine the profound impact it has had on American life and how religious attitudes have changed in recent decades.


Book Synopsis American Grace by : Robert D. Putnam

Download or read book American Grace written by Robert D. Putnam and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-02-21 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draws on three national surveys on religion, as well as research conducted by congregations across the United States, to examine the profound impact it has had on American life and how religious attitudes have changed in recent decades.