The fracture of good order : Christian antiliberalism and the challenge to American politics / Jason C. Bivins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bivins, Jason.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity and politics--United States.

Christianity and politics.

Liberalism--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Liberalism.

Political activists--Religious life--United States.

Political activists.

Liberalism--United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (230 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Whether picketing outside abortion clinics, speaking out at school board meetings, or attending anti-death penalty vigils, many Americans have publicly opposed local, state, or federal government policies on the basis of their religious convictions. In The Fracture of Good Order, Jason Bivins examines the growing phenomenon of Christian protest against civil authority and political order in the United States. He argues that since the 1960s, there has been a proliferation of religious activism against what protesters perceive as government's excessive power and lack of moral principle. Calling this phenomenon "Christian antiliberalism, " Bivins finds at its center a belief that American politics is based on a liberal tradition that gives government too much social and economic influence and threatens the practice of a religious life. Focusing on the Catholic pacifism of Daniel and Philip Berrigan and the Jonah House resistance community, the Christian Right's homeschooling movement, and the evangelical Sojourners community, Bivins combines religious studies with political theory to explore the common ground shared by these disparate groups. Despite their vast ideological and institutional differences, Bivins argues, these activists justify their actions in overtly religious terms based on a rejection of basic tenets of the American political system. Analyzing the widespread dissatisfaction with the conventional forms of political identity and affiliation that characterize American civic life today, Bivins sheds light on the complex relations between religion and democratic society.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: "Watch!": The Meanings of Christian Antiliberalism

Notes

1. The Irony of the Liberal State

Traditions of Dissent

The Sixties and Their Aftermath

Theory as Usual?

2. Christianity Faithfully Lived Is Politics Enough: Prophetic Politics in the Sojourners Community

Roots and Relations

Inner-City Koinonia

Establishing Judgment in the Gate: Prophetic Theology

A Local Geography of Christ's Passion

Call to Renewal

A Very Unexpected Place: Meanings and Interpretations

3. The Rootedness of Discontent: Culture and Identity in the New Christian Right

An Antiliberal History

Keeping Safe from the Liberal State

Educrats of Sexology

Drawing the Line

The Sacred Registers of Education

4. The Fracture of Good Order: The Berrigans and Ritual Protest

Blood and the Signs of Contradiction

"No Man of State Has Seen His Own Heart": The Berrigans and Caesar

"Pissing on the Dynamite": Ritual Protest and Sacramental Politics

"It's Impolite Not to Tell the Judge He's Terrible": The Berrigans in Court

In the Belly of the Whale: Jonah House and Community

5. Joy Cometh with the Morning: Democracy, Power, and Christian Antiliberalism

The Shapes of American Religion

A Refuge from Liberalism

Power, Religion, and Democracy

The Stubborn Quality of Truth and Experience

Bibliography

Index

A-C

D-F

G-L

M-N

O-S

T-Z.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798890877031

9780807861509

0807861502

OCLC:

56356633