The Global Face of Public Faith
![]() 312 pp., 6 x 9 Paperback ISBN: 9780878401390 (0878401393) October 2003 LC: 2003004567 Moral Traditions series EXPLORE THIS TITLE DescriptionTable of Contents Reviews |
The Global Face of Public Faith
Politics, Human Rights, and Christian Ethics
David Hollenbach, SJ
The Global Face of Public Faith addresses the hotly debated question of the role religion should play in politics in both the American and international contexts. It engages the fears that public religion threatens American democracy and could lead to a global clash of civilizations and new wars of religion. It analyzes how Christianity can attain common ground with other religious communities, thus becoming a force for peace and human rights. The separation of church from state need not mean the privatization of religion. Religious engagement in public life can strengthen civic life by encouraging active citizen participation that promotes both justice and peace. The question of religion and politics should thus become an argument about how faith becomes public, not whether it does. Religious communities, Christianity in particular, should be vigorous advocates of human rights, democratic governance, and economic development worldwide. In so doing, they will also become peacemakers. David Hollenbach, SJ, holds The Margaret O'Brien Flatley Chair in Catholic Theology at Boston College and is the author of several books on ethics, including Catholicism and Liberalism and The Common Good and Christian Ethics. James F. Keenan, SJ, Series Editor
Reviews
"With a new and growing world-wide concern for both measured moral responses about what constitutes the good society set alongside fears of fundamentalist religious arguments about the relationship of fatih, politics, and human rights, Hollenbach presents us with an excellent and finely drawn work on the role of Christian ethics in this debate. When reflection on moral judgment and courage are called for, this work presents a context and a call."—Gregorianum "These important essays show that no one has a better grasp than David Hollenbach of the significant issues involved in the role of the church and religion in a pluralistic society in the light of both the Catholic tradition and the broad contemporary debate in the United States. We are all in his debt."—Charles E. Curran Table of Contents Preface Part One: Fundamental Matters 1. Faith in Public 2. Tradition, Historicity, and Truth 3. Virtues and Vices in Social Inquiry 4. Social Ethics under the Sign of the Cross Part Two: The Church in American Public Life 5. Religion, Morality, and Politics 6. Religion and Political Life: Theoretical Issues 7. Freedom and Truth 8. The Context of Civil Society and Culture 9. Politically Active Churches and Democratic Life Part Three: Global Challenges 10. Christian Social Ethics after the Cold War 11. Human Rights and Development: The African Challenge 12. Global Faiths, Cultures, and Global Ethics Bibliography Index |