Can Religion Save Democracy?
How More Faith--Not Less--Can Heal Our Public Life
Will be published approx. on 24. November 2026
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-58743-689-5 (ISBN)
Description
"Keep religion and politics separate!" For decades, scholars assumed that less religion would lead to a more peaceful and unified form of politics. And yet, as religious identity recedes from American public life, the opposite appears to be the case. Our post-religious politics are growing more polarized, anxious, and unstable each day. Could a return to ancient religious wisdom and community be the key to healing what secular politics can't fix?
In Can Religion Save Democracy? two friends and colleagues--a Christian theologian and a Muslim political scientist--make a bold case: If American democracy is going to survive, it will require more religion, not less. Drawing on wisdom from their respective religious traditions, they explore
? why secularism has only deepened our divides,
? what ancient insights from Christianity and Islam can strengthen our common life,
? how spiritual practices contribute something critical and irreplaceable to democracy, and
? how citizens can navigate a new world of deep polarization and mistrust.
This is not a call for theocracy or religious authoritarianism. It's a hopeful, clear-eyed vision showing how religious faith offers vital tools to renew the soul of democracy in a divided nation.
In Can Religion Save Democracy? two friends and colleagues--a Christian theologian and a Muslim political scientist--make a bold case: If American democracy is going to survive, it will require more religion, not less. Drawing on wisdom from their respective religious traditions, they explore
? why secularism has only deepened our divides,
? what ancient insights from Christianity and Islam can strengthen our common life,
? how spiritual practices contribute something critical and irreplaceable to democracy, and
? how citizens can navigate a new world of deep polarization and mistrust.
This is not a call for theocracy or religious authoritarianism. It's a hopeful, clear-eyed vision showing how religious faith offers vital tools to renew the soul of democracy in a divided nation.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ada, MI
United States
Publishing group
Baker Publishing Group
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-58743-689-5 (9781587436895)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Matthew Kaemingk (PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) is professor of public theology at Theological University Utrecht and a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is the author of Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear and lives in Ballwin, Missouri.
Shadi Hamid (PhD, Oxford University) is a columnist at The Washington Post and a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is the author of The Case for American Power and The Problem of Democracy.
Shadi Hamid (PhD, Oxford University) is a columnist at The Washington Post and a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is the author of The Case for American Power and The Problem of Democracy.
Content
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. We Can't Quit Religion
2. Conflict Is Inevitable
3. God Only Knows
4. Make Politics Mundane Again
5. The Case for Hell
6. From Cancel Culture to Covenant Culture
7. Schools of Democracy
8. Praying for Democracy
Conclusion
Introduction
1. We Can't Quit Religion
2. Conflict Is Inevitable
3. God Only Knows
4. Make Politics Mundane Again
5. The Case for Hell
6. From Cancel Culture to Covenant Culture
7. Schools of Democracy
8. Praying for Democracy
Conclusion