Radical Religion Contemporary Perspectives on Religion and the Left

by Pauli, Benjamin J.; Apostolidis, Paul; Ellis, Marc H.; Gutterman, David; Hamad, Wadood; Jensen, Robert; Loy, David; Maguire, Daniel C.; Parenti, Michael; Piehl, Mel; Ruether, Rosemary Radford; Thompson, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780739143230
• ISBN10: 0739143239
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-11
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

The political Left has had a turbulent relationship with religion, from outright hostility to attempts to meld religious faith with progressivism. Confronted with contemporary social ills, the progressive Left continues to disagree about the role that religion should play, whether in understanding social challenges and solutions, or stimulating social critique and reform. Radical Religion presents valuable insights, from both religious and secular perspectives, for progressives today as they struggle to formulate a coherent agenda and effective strategies for social change. This book presents arguments from a diverse group of scholars, and offers a snapshot of contemporary, progressive thinking about religion.

Author Biography

Benjamin J. Pauli is a PhD candidate in political science at Rutgers University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. xi
Theoretical and Historical Frameworks
Religion and Secular Progress in America	p. 3
Religion and the Common Weal	p. 25
After Religion: Progressive Politics and the Ethics of Modernity	p. 39
Bridging the Personal and the Political
The Nonduaiity of Personal and Social Transformation: Why Religion and the Left Need Each Other	p. 59
Religious but not Spiritual: Creating a New Communion	p. 73
Confronting Religious Conservatism
The Politics of God in the Christian Tradition	p. 95
Against the Theocrats	p. 105
"New" Evangelicals and the Post-Political Horizons of Neoliberalism	p. 113
Prophet or Priest: The Politics of Rev. Jim Wallis	p. 135
Ideas in Context
A Socio-Political Critique of Ethno-Religious Chauvinism in Contemporary Arab Societies	p. 155
"All These Atheists and Rebels": Reflections on the Explosion of the Jewish Prophetic in Our Time	p. 179
Index	p. 201
About the Contributors	p. 209
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