Christianity and Contemporary Politics The

Relations between religious and political spheres continue to stir passionate debates on both sides of the Atlantic. Through a combination of theological reflection and empirical case studies, Bretherton succeeds in offering timely and invaluable insights into these crucial issues facing 21 st century societies.Explores the relationship between Christianity and contemporary politics through case studies of faith-based organizations, Christian political activism and welfare provision in the West; these case studies assess initiatives including community organizing, fair trade, and the sanctuary movement Offers an insightful, informative account of how Christians can engage politically in a multi-faith, liberal democracy Integrates debates in political theology with inter-disciplinary analysis of policy and practice regarding religious social, political and economic engagement in the USA, UK, and continental Europe Reveals how Christians can help prevent the subversion of the church - and even of politics itself - by legal, bureaucratic, and market mechanisms, rather than advocating withdrawal or assimilation Engages with the intricacies of contemporary politics whilst integrating systematic and historical theological reflection on political and economic life

Luke Bretherton is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Politics, and Convener of the Faith and Public Policy Forum at King's College London. He has worked with a variety of faith-based NGOs, missions, and churches in several national and international contexts. He is the author of Hospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral Diversity (2006), and Reviews Editor for the journal Political Theology.

Preface	p. x
Acknowledgments	p. xiv
Introduction	p. 1
The Terms and Conditions of Political Life	p. 6
Religion and Postsecular Politics	p. 10
Theological Politics and the Ecclesial-Turn	p. 16
Summary of Aims and Methodology	p. 18
Faith-Based Organizations and the Emerging Shape of Church-State Relations	p. 31
Introduction	p. 31
"Working Together": The Shaping of Relations between the State and Religious Groups in a Multi-Faith Society	p. 32
Social Cohesion, Social Capital, and the "Salvation" of Civil Society	p. 37
Liberalism and the Continuing Requirements of Public Reason	p. 45
Theological Politics and the Question of What Constitutes Faithful Witness	p. 53
Ecclesiology and the Political Mission of the Church	p. 53
Summary	p. 57
Local: Augustine, Alinsky, and the Politics of the Common Good	p. 71
Introduction	p. 71
The Alinsky Approach: The Work of Broad-Based Community Organizing	p. 73
Eschatology, Politics, and the Mutual Ground of the Saeculum	p. 81
Christian Realism Redivivus?	p. 88
A Thomistic Democratic Politics?	p. 91
Reweaving Civil Society	p. 94
Politics without Piety Is Pitiless; Piety without Politics Is Pitiful	p. 96
Summary	p. 104
National: Christian Cosmopolitanism, Refugees, and the Politics of Proximity	p. 126
Introduction	p. 126
Theological Politics and the Liberal Democratic Response to Refugees	p. 127
Definitions and the priority of refugees	p. 127
The duty of care to near and distant neighbors	p. 129
Refugees as Bare Life	p. 137
Bare Life and the Limits of Humanitarianism	p. 141
Hallowing Bare Life: A Doxological Response	p. 142
Hallowed Be Thy Name	p. 145
Bare life as gift	p. 146
Bare life as judgment	p. 148
Bare life as promise	p. 150
Sanctuary: The Practice of Hallowing Bare Life	p. 152
Summary	p. 158
Global: Consumerism, Fair Trade, and the Politics of Ordinary Time	p. 175
Introduction	p. 175
Defining Political Consumerism	p. 176
Consumerism and the Formation of Desire	p. 178
Political Consumerism as Apprenticeship in the Virtues	p. 181
Political Consumerism as Neighbor Love	p. 183
Fair Trade as Contradiction	p. 184
Re-prioritizing the social	p. 185
Reestablishing place	p. 186
Fair Trade, Globalization and the Emergence of Political Consumerism	p. 187
Ordinary Politics and the Peace of Babylon	p. 189
Political consumerism as penultimate politics	p. 189
Political consumerism as bricolage	p. 190
Political consumerism as ordinary politics	p. 192
Summary	p. 199
Conclusion: Toward a Politics of Hospitality and a Theology of Politics	p. 210
Epilogue	p. 221
Bibliography	p. 224
Index	p. 242
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Christianity and Contemporary Politics The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness

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