6.1 Toulouse (2006)
Toulouse, Mark G. (2006) God in Public: Four Ways American Christianity and Public Life Relate. Louisville & London: Westminster John Knox Press.
Quick Look
Author In 2009 Mark Toulouse became Principal and Professor of the History of Christianity at Emmanuel College, a theological school associated with the University of Toronto (and Victoria University) in Toronto, Canada. Before that he was an historian of religion and culture in the U.S. for 23 years at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. He is an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). While Toulouse and this book are not very well known outside academic circles, I think they deserve to be. He was one of Martin Marty’s students at the University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1984), and this book develops a helpful typology to better understand the complex history of the interrelationships between faith & politics in the U.S. during the last half of the 20th century. It was key to my becoming interested in the subjects of this website. |
This Resource’s Key Interpretations and Insights Related to the Purposes of This Website
The author provides a helpful typology of four ways that religion related to politics during the last half of the 20th
century in America, judging two to be healthy and two to be unhealthy.
This is the first book I've chosen to review in this section, because I think it strongly challenges three viewpoints that are serious obstacles to developing healthier relationships between faith & politics in the 21st century:
The author provides a helpful typology of four ways that religion related to politics during the last half of the 20th
century in America, judging two to be healthy and two to be unhealthy.
This is the first book I've chosen to review in this section, because I think it strongly challenges three viewpoints that are serious obstacles to developing healthier relationships between faith & politics in the 21st century:
- the idea that the U.S. Constitution justifies legal restrictions on religious involvement in public life (especially politics)--the so-called “wall of separation” between religion and politics
- the idea that, even if it’s legal, there are no morally healthy ways for religion and politics to influence each other
- the idea that religious persons must leave their specifically religious language behind when addressing public (especially political) issues and engage others on a supposedly neutral, secular language playing field
In Part I, Toulouse deals with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. His aim is to show that this foundational document establishes the legal right of religious persons and religious groups--as religious--to be involved in and influence public life, including politics.
In Parts II and III, which form the bulk of the book, he uses a typology he created to distinguish the four ways he sees faith and public life relating in the last 50 years in the U.S.--two of which he evaluates as unhealthy and two as morally healthy. In Part IV, he clarifies the paradigm shift from the modern to the postmodern world, especially as it relates to philosophy and theology. One of the most surprising developments of this shift for many people is the strong challenge to the “modern” Enlightenment idea that there is such a thing as a universally accepted language, which is not grounded in some kind of faith (secular or religious). Thus, for those who accept this new perspective the playing field of political public language is leveled for secular and religious persons in our postmodern world. Both have an equal right to be there and participate fully on their own terms. |
Endorsements
This appreciation from the back cover of this book points to its relevance for our topic:
“When churches and Christians behave well publicly, faith matters in a surprising way. Religious leaders searching for a public profile faithful to their religious heritage and to the U.S. Constitution, as well as political leaders attempting to represent a religiously plural constituency, will profit from Mark Toulouse’s thoughtful, reasoned, and legally and theologically nuanced argument. Meanwhile, neither religious absolutists nor religion’s despisers will find ground to stand on. Toulouse’s achievement is to make ‘the muddled middle’ the place to be.” ~ R. Scott Appleby, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame
This appreciation from the back cover of this book points to its relevance for our topic:
“When churches and Christians behave well publicly, faith matters in a surprising way. Religious leaders searching for a public profile faithful to their religious heritage and to the U.S. Constitution, as well as political leaders attempting to represent a religiously plural constituency, will profit from Mark Toulouse’s thoughtful, reasoned, and legally and theologically nuanced argument. Meanwhile, neither religious absolutists nor religion’s despisers will find ground to stand on. Toulouse’s achievement is to make ‘the muddled middle’ the place to be.” ~ R. Scott Appleby, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame
Until my Detailed Review of this resource is ready, here is a link to the summary of it (and an introductory page) I made for the Faith and Politics Group of the Colorado Democrat Party in 2007. This was my main involvement in the hot debates going on at that time over the place of religious witness in the public square concerning politics after the general disgust with the unhealthy involvement of the Religious Right in the 2004 election.
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Click the link to go to my Detailed Review PDF
for this resource. (Forthcoming) |
(When you finish with the PDF, just click the back arrow on your browser to return to this webpage.)
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