Democratic Faith

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Democratic Faith

Author : Patrick Deneen
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400826896
Total Pages : 389 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Democratic Faith by : Patrick Deneen

Download or read book Democratic Faith written by Patrick Deneen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-10 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American political reformer Herbert Croly wrote, "For better or worse, democracy cannot be disentangled from an aspiration toward human perfectibility." Democratic Faith is at once a trenchant analysis and a powerful critique of this underlying assumption that informs democratic theory. Patrick Deneen argues that among democracy's most ardent supporters there is an oft-expressed belief in the need to "transform" human beings in order to reconcile the sometimes disappointing reality of human self-interest with the democratic ideal of selfless commitment. This "transformative impulse" is frequently couched in religious language, such as the need for political "redemption." This is all the more striking given the frequent accompanying condemnation of traditional religious belief that informs the "democratic faith.? At the same time, because so often this democratic ideal fails to materialize, democratic faith is often subject to a particularly intense form of disappointment. A mutually reinforcing cycle of faith and disillusionment is frequently exhibited by those who profess a democratic faith--in effect imperiling democratic commitments due to the cynicism of its most fervent erstwhile supporters. Deneen argues that democracy is ill-served by such faith. Instead, he proposes a form of "democratic realism" that recognizes democracy not as a regime with aspirations to perfection, but that justifies democracy as the regime most appropriate for imperfect humans. If democratic faith aspires to transformation, democratic realism insists on the central importance of humility, hope, and charity.

Faith in Action

Author : Richard L. Wood
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226905969
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (269 download)

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Book Synopsis Faith in Action by : Richard L. Wood

Download or read book Faith in Action written by Richard L. Wood and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2002-09-15 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past fifteen years, associations throughout the U.S. have organized citizens around issues of equality and social justice, often through local churches. But in contrast to President Bush's vision of faith-based activism, in which groups deliver social services to the needy, these associations do something greater. Drawing on institutions of faith, they reshape public policies that neglect the disadvantaged. To find out how this faith-based form of community organizing succeeds, Richard L. Wood spent several years working with two local groups in Oakland, California—the faith-based Pacific Institute for Community Organization and the race-based Center for Third World Organizing. Comparing their activist techniques and achievements, Wood argues that the alternative cultures and strategies of these two groups give them radically different access to community ties and social capital. Creative and insightful, Faith in Action shows how community activism and religious organizations can help build a more just and democratic future for all Americans.

American Pragmatism and Democratic Faith

Author : Robert J. Lacey
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis American Pragmatism and Democratic Faith by : Robert J. Lacey

Download or read book American Pragmatism and Democratic Faith written by Robert J. Lacey and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In June 1962, a group calling themselves the Students for a Democratic Society gathered at a retreat in rural Michigan to discuss and revise their founding manifesto. The result of that meeting was the famous Port Huron Statement, a document that not only reflected their disenchantment with America's elite-controlled social and political institutions but also called for the creation of a "participatory democracy" in which all citizens engage in public life and share the responsibility of political decision making. This demand for participatory democracy characterized the New Left ethos and captured the imagination of a generation of radicals and political activists from the late 1950s to the close of the 1960s. So, why did participatory democracy fail to materialize in any recognizable form? Why was it forced to retreat from mainstream public discourse into the academy? Its fate, political scientist Robert Lacey asserts, was determined in large part by its intellectual origins. The idea of participatory democracy germinated in the philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, founders of American pragmatism, and fully blossomed in the work of John Dewey, who argued that democracy should (and could) be a "way of life" for every person. Dewey rested his democratic faith on three pragmatist tenets: truth is probabilistic and socially determined; humans are malleable and educable; and humans, endowed with free will, can act collectively for their individual and social betterment. When the realities of modern life in the mid- to late-twentieth century posed serious challenges to these tenets, the very foundation of participatory democratic thought began to crumble. Yet, willfully disregarding the rubble, C. Wright Mills, Sheldon Wolin, Benjamin Barber, and other theorists have continued to support participatory democracy as a viable political idea. Today's participatory democrats have constructed a fragile theoretical enterprise that rests on questionable assumptions inherited from the pragmatist tradition about truth, human nature, and free will. Tracing the history of a salient idea in American political thought, Lacey elucidates the assumptions underlying participatory democracy, assesses both its usefulness and coherence, and ultimately reveals it to be less a theory than a faith--a faith that has largely failed to follow through on its promise.

The Democratic Faith

Author : Paul M. Sniderman
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300231911
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis The Democratic Faith by : Paul M. Sniderman

Download or read book The Democratic Faith written by Paul M. Sniderman and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can the citizens of a democracy be trusted to run it properly? Modern political science has concentrated on cataloguing voters’ failings—their lack of knowledge, tolerance, or consistency in political thinking. While it would be a mistake to think this portrait of citizens is simply wrong, it is a deeper mistake to accept it as a satisfactory likeness. In this book, Paul Sniderman demonstrates that a concentration on the pathologies of citizens’ political thinking has obscured the intense clash of opposing belief systems in the electorate. He shows how a concentration on racism has distorted understanding of the politics of race by keeping out of sight those who think well of black Americans. And he exposes the fallacy of spotlighting the dangers of mass politics while ignoring those of elite politics.

Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy

Author : David M. Elcott
Publisher : University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN 13 : 0268200599
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (682 download)

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Book Synopsis Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy by : David M. Elcott

Download or read book Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy written by David M. Elcott and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2021-05-01 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy highlights the use of religious identity to fuel the rise of illiberal, nationalist, and populist democracy. In Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy, David Elcott, C. Colt Anderson, Tobias Cremer, and Volker Haarmann present a pragmatic and modernist exploration of how religion engages in the public square. Elcott and his co-authors are concerned about the ways religious identity is being used to foster the exclusion of individuals and communities from citizenship, political representation, and a role in determining public policy. They examine the ways religious identity is weaponized to fuel populist revolts against a political, social, and economic order that values democracy in a global and strikingly diverse world. Included is a history and political analysis of religion, politics, and policies in Europe and the United States that foster this illiberal rebellion. The authors explore what constitutes a constructive religious voice in the political arena, even in nurturing patriotism and democracy, and what undermines and threatens liberal democracies. To lay the groundwork for a religious response, the book offers chapters showing how Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism can nourish liberal democracy. The authors encourage people of faith to promote foundational support for the institutions and values of the democratic enterprise from within their own religious traditions and to stand against the hostility and cruelty that historically have resulted when religious zealotry and state power combine. Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy is intended for readers who value democracy and are concerned about growing threats to it, and especially for people of faith and religious leaders, as well as for scholars of political science, religion, and democracy.

Democratic Religion

Author : Gregory A. Wills
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195160991
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (951 download)

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Book Synopsis Democratic Religion by : Gregory A. Wills

Download or read book Democratic Religion written by Gregory A. Wills and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-03-13 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No American denomination identified itself more closely with the nation's democratic ideal than the Baptists. Most antebellum southern Baptist churches allowed women and slaves to vote on membership matters and preferred populists preachers who addressed their appeals to the common person. Paradoxically no denomination could wield religious authority as zealously as the Baptists. Between 1785 and 1860 they ritually excommunicated forty to fifty thousand church members in Georgia alone. Wills demonstrates how a denomination of freedom-loving individualists came to embrace an exclusivist spirituality--a spirituality that continues to shape Southern Baptist churches in contemporary conflicts between moderates who urge tolerance and conservatives who require belief in scriptural inerrancy. Wills's analysis advances our understanding of the interaction between democracy and religious authority, and will appeal to scholars of American religion, culture, and history, as well as to Baptist observers.

Faith in Numbers

Author : Michael Hoffman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197538037
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (975 download)

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Book Synopsis Faith in Numbers by : Michael Hoffman

Download or read book Faith in Numbers written by Michael Hoffman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-18 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why does religion sometimes increase support for democracy and sometimes do just the opposite? In Faith in Numbers, political scientist Michael Hoffman presents a theory of religion, group interest, and democracy. Focusing on communal religion, he demonstrates that the effect of communal prayer on support for democracy depends on the interests of the religious group in question. For members of groups who would benefit from democracy, communal prayer increases support for democratic institutions; for citizens whose groups would lose privileges in the event of democratic reforms, the opposite effect is present. Using a variety of data sources, Hoffman illustrates these claims in multiple contexts. He places particular emphasis on his study of Lebanon and Iraq, two countries in which sectarian divisions have played a major role in political development, by utilizing both existing and original surveys. By examining religious and political preferences among both Muslims and non-Muslims in several religiously diverse settings, Faith in Numbers shows that theological explanations of religion and democracy are inadequate. Rather, it demonstrates that religious identities and sectarian interests play a major part in determining regime preferences and illustrates how Islam in particular can be mobilized for both pro- and anti-democratic purposes. It finds that Muslim religious practice is not necessarily anti-democratic; in fact, in a number of settings, practicing Muslims are considerably more supportive of democracy than their secular counterparts. Theological differences alone do not determine whether members of religious groups tend to support or oppose democracy; rather, their participation in communal worship motivates them to view democracy through a sectarian lens.

Dewey and Power

Author : Randy Hewitt
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9087903405
Total Pages : 148 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (879 download)

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Book Synopsis Dewey and Power by : Randy Hewitt

Download or read book Dewey and Power written by Randy Hewitt and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dewey and Power develops out of criticism that John Dewey’s work lacks a sufficient concept of power, thus rendering his faith in an amelioristic sense of experience and a democratic ideal untenable. According to philosopher Cornel West, Dewey gives ameliorism its most mature social, political, and ethical justification. Alan Ryan suggests that Dewey represented “thinking America” at its best. Dewey’s critics maintain, however, that this best is not good enough. If their criticism of Dewey goes unchallenged, one of the most intelligent, philosophically consistent visions of ethical behavior in a world shot through with difference, risk, danger, and change becomes damned. The upshot is lost faith in the idea that the give and take of mutual reference and pooled intelligence can lead to ever wider points of contact with each other that will enrich the significance of our individual quests together. Furthermore, lost faith in ameliorism and democracy implies a lost faith in a democratic education. The purpose of Dewey and Power, therefore, is to explore the diverse critiques of his alleged insufficient concept of power and to represent Dewey’s work in a way that his critics’ claims can be evaluated. The key word here is evaluate. The book is not a simple apology for Dewey’s position on these matters. First, the book works out Dewey’s concept of power as it comes out of his understanding of the psycho-physiological makeup of the human organism. Then the analysis of power as it is psycho-physiologically interpreted is extended to incorporate Dewey’s ontological insights, especially that of the directing influence of social custom on habit. This process unveils a concept of power that includes both domination and liberation. Furthermore, the relation between Dewey’s sense of power and his faith in a democratic ideal is drawn out in explicit detail. Next, the book provides a full delineation of Dewey’s critics’ claims and measures the worth of these claims in light of what the preceding examination suggests in reference to Dewey’s idea of power. This analysis makes clear that Dewey understood that power can be as productively oppressive as it can be productively liberating. Finally, the book traces out why Dewey’s concept of power can be deployed in the construction of a critical, democratic education.

The Dream Is Freedom

Author : Sarah Azaransky
Publisher : OUP USA
ISBN 13 : 0199744815
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis The Dream Is Freedom by : Sarah Azaransky

Download or read book The Dream Is Freedom written by Sarah Azaransky and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011-04 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to Pauli Murray - poet, lawyer, trailblazing civil rights and feminist activist, and priest - as a significant twentieth century African American intellectual who grounded her calls for democratic transformation in Christian concepts of reconciliation and the coming kingdom.

Christian Faith and Modern Democracy

Author : Robert P. Kraynak
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Christian Faith and Modern Democracy by : Robert P. Kraynak

Download or read book Christian Faith and Modern Democracy written by Robert P. Kraynak and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work challenges the commonly accepted view that Christianity is inherently compatible with modern democratic society. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it argues that there is no necessary connection between Christianity and any form of government.

This Life

Author : Martin Hägglund
Publisher : Anchor
ISBN 13 : 1101873736
Total Pages : 466 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis This Life by : Martin Hägglund

Download or read book This Life written by Martin Hägglund and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the René Wellek Prize Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Millions, and The Sydney Morning Herald This Life offers a profoundly inspiring basis for transforming our lives, demonstrating that our commitment to freedom and democracy should lead us beyond both religion and capitalism. Philosopher Martin Hägglund argues that we need to cultivate not a religious faith in eternity but a secular faith devoted to our finite life together. He shows that all spiritual questions of freedom are inseparable from economic and material conditions: what matters is how we treat one another in this life and what we do with our time. Engaging with great philosophers from Aristotle to Hegel and Marx, literary writers from Dante to Proust and Knausgaard, political economists from Mill to Keynes and Hayek, and religious thinkers from Augustine to Kierkegaard and Martin Luther King, Jr., Hägglund points the way to an emancipated life.

Surviving Diversity

Author : Jeff Spinner-Halev
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 0801876931
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis Surviving Diversity by : Jeff Spinner-Halev

Download or read book Surviving Diversity written by Jeff Spinner-Halev and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2003-04-01 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While liberal advocates of multiculturalism frequently call for tolerance of those with diverse views, this tolerance is often not extended to members of religious groups. This lack is perhaps not surprising, since the liberal ideals of autonomy, equality, and inclusiveness are the very ones that many religious groups—particularly the more conservative ones—reject. Yet, as Jeff Spinner-Halev argues in Surviving Diversity, any theory of multiculturalism that fails to take religious groups into account is incomplete. Spinner-Halev proposes three principles on which accommodation of exclusive religious groups should be based. First, they must provide their children with a basic education and allow adults to leave the community if they wish. Second, with some exceptions they should be welcomed to participate in the public sphere, since such participation often bolsters citizenship. Third, they should be free to exclude others from their institutions, except when doing so substantially harms the citizenship of others. While not condoning such extremist groups as the Branch Davidians or the Christian Identity movement, Spinner-Halev stresses that most religious conservatives have chosen to live a life that, in a permissive Western democracy, requires considerable restraint and thought. He concludes by demonstrating how the ideals of multiculturalism can be extended to such citizens, creating a society tolerant of even greater diversity.

John Dewey

Author : Steven Rockefeller
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231073496
Total Pages : 702 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis John Dewey by : Steven Rockefeller

Download or read book John Dewey written by Steven Rockefeller and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1994-03-01 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining ?biography and intellectual history, Steven Rockefeller offers an illuminating introduction to the philosophy of John Dewey, with special emphasis on the evolution of the religious faith and moral vision at the heart of his thought. This study pays particular attention to Dewey's radical democratic reconstruction of Christianity and his many contributions to the American tradition of spiritual democracy. Rockefeller presents the first full exploration of Dewey's religious thought, including its mystical dimension. Covering Dewey's entire intellectual life, the author provides a clear introduction to Dewey's early neo-Hegelian idealism as well as to his later naturalistic metaphysics, epistemology, theory of education, theory of evaluation, and philosophy of religion. The author tells the story of the evolution of this faith and philosophical vision, offering fresh insight into the enduring value of the thought of America's foremost philosopher.

Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State

Author : Robert Audi
Publisher : OUP USA
ISBN 13 : 0199796084
Total Pages : 191 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State by : Robert Audi

Download or read book Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State written by Robert Audi and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book clarifies the relation between religion and ethics, articulates principles governing religion in politics, and outlines a theory of civic virtue. It frames institutional principles to guide governmental policies toward religion and counterpart standards to guide individual citizens; and it defends an account of toleration that leavens the ethical framework both in individual nations and internationally.

Religion, Race, and Barack Obama's New Democratic Pluralism

Author : Gastón Espinosa
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0415633761
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (156 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion, Race, and Barack Obama's New Democratic Pluralism by : Gastón Espinosa

Download or read book Religion, Race, and Barack Obama's New Democratic Pluralism written by Gastón Espinosa and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation This edited volume demonstrates how Obama charted a new course for Democrats by staking out claims among moderate-conservative faith communities and emerged victorious in the presidential contest, in part, by promoting a new Democratic racial-ethnic and religious pluralism.

Prophets and Patriots

Author : Ruth Braunstein
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520293649
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis Prophets and Patriots by : Ruth Braunstein

Download or read book Prophets and Patriots written by Ruth Braunstein and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2017-05-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction -- Becoming active citizens -- Narratives of active citizenship -- Putting faith in action -- Holding government accountable -- Styles of active citizenship -- Conclusion

Pluralism and Freedom

Author : Stephen V. Monsma
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1442214309
Total Pages : 239 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

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Book Synopsis Pluralism and Freedom by : Stephen V. Monsma

Download or read book Pluralism and Freedom written by Stephen V. Monsma and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faith-based organizations play a major role in providing a host of health, educational, and social services to the public. Nearly all these efforts, however, have been accompanied by intense debate and numerous legal challenges. The right of faith-based organizations to hire based on religion, the presence of religious symbols and icons in rooms where government-subsidized services are provided, and the enforcement of gay civil rights to which some faith-based organizations object all continue to be subjects of intense debate and numerous court cases. In Pluralism and Freedom, Stephen V. Monsma explores the question of how much autonomy should faith-based organizations retain when they enter the public realm? He contends that pluralism and freedom demand their religious freedom be respected, but that freedom of all religious traditions and of the general public and secular groups be equally respected, ideals that neither the left nor the right live up to. In response, Monsma argues that democratic pluralism requires a genuine, authentic--but also a limited--autonomy for faith-based organizations providing public services, and offers practical, concrete public policy applications of this framework in practice.