The secular city : secularization and urbanization in theological perspective / Harvey Cox ; with a new introduction by the author.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cox, Harvey, 1929-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church and the world.

Secularization (Theology).

City churches.

Cities and towns--United States.

Cities and towns.

Sociology, Urban.

United States.

Physical Description:

lx, 339 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2013]

Summary:

Since its initial publication in 1965, The Secular City has been hailed as a classic for its nuanced exploration of the relationships among the rise of urban civilization, the decline of hierarchical, institutional religion, and the place of the secular within society. Now, half a century later, this international best seller remains as relevant as when it first appeared. The book's arguments-that secularity has a positive effect on institutions, that the city can be a space where people of all faiths fulfill their potential, and that God is present in both the secular and formal religious realms-still resonate with readers of all backgrounds. For this brand-new edition, Harvey Cox provides a substantial and updated introduction. He reflects on the book's initial stunning success in an age of political and religious upheaval and makes the case for its enduring relevance at a time when the debates that The Secular City helped ignite have caught fire once again. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 The Coming of the Secular City 19

1 The Biblical Sources of Secularization 21

Secularization vs. Secularism 22

Dimensions of Secularization 26

Creation as the Disenchantment of Nature 26

The Exodus as the Desacralization of Politics 30

The Sinai Covenant as the Deconsecration of Values 37

2 The Shape of the Secular City 46

Anonymity 47

The Man at the Giant Switchboard 49

Anonymity as Deliverance from the Law 56

Mobility 60

The Man in the Cloverleaf 62

Yahweh and the Baalim 65

3 The Style of the Secular City 72

John F. Kennedy and Pragmatism 74

Albert Camus and Profanity 84

Tillich, Barth, and the Secular Style 94

4 The Secular City in Cross-Cultural Perspective 102

New Delhi and India 104

Rome and Western Europe 107

Prague and Eastern Europe no Boston and the United States 114

Part 2 The Church Li the Secular City 123

5 Toward a Theology of Social Change 125

The Kingdom of God and the Secular City 131

Anatomy of a Revolutionary Theology 135

6 The Church as God's Avant-garde 148

The Church's Kerygmatic Function: Broadcasting the Seizure of Power 151

The Church's Diakonic Function: Healing the Urban Fractures 157

The Church's Koinoniac Function: Making Visible the City of Man 171

7 The Church as Cultural Exorcist 177

Part 3 Excursions in Urban Exorcism 195

8 Work and Play in the Secular City 197

The Separation of Places of Work and Residence 198

The Bureaucratic Organization of Work 204

The Emancipation of Work from Religion 214

9 Sex and Secularization 227

The Residue of Tribalism 228

Remnants of Town Virtues 242

10 The Church and the Secular University 257

Part 4 God and the Secular Man 283

11 To Speak in a Secular Fashion of God 285

Speaking of God as a Sociological Problem 288

Speaking of God as a Political Issue 294

Speaking of God as a Theological Question 304.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 321-327) and index.

ISBN:

9780691158853

0691158851

OCLC:

841212025

Publisher Number:

99955078739