Cross Purposes : Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy / Jonathan Rauch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rauch, Jonathan, 1960- author.

Series:

Politics and culture (New Haven, Conn.)

Politics and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Democracy.

Christianity and politics--United States.

Christianity and politics.

Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Conservatism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (168 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, 2025.

Summary:

Why the crisis of Christianity has become a crisis for democracy What happens to American democracy if Christianity is no longer able, or no longer willing, to perform the functions on which our constitutional order depends? In this provocative book, the award-winning journalist Jonathan Rauch—a lifelong atheist—reckons candidly with both the shortcomings of secularism and the corrosion of Christianity. Thin Christianity, as Rauch calls the mainline church, has been unable to inspire and retain believers. Worse, a Church of Fear has distorted white evangelicalism in ways that violate the tenets of both Jesus and James Madison. What to do? For answers, Rauch looks to a new generation of religious thinkers, as well as to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has placed the Constitution at the heart of its spiritual teachings. In this timely critique Rauch addresses secular Americans who think Christianity can be abandoned, and Christian Americans who blame secular culture for their grievances. The two must work together, he argues, to confront our present crisis. He calls on Christians to recommit to the teachings of their faith that align with Madison, not MAGA, and to understand that liberal democracy, far from being oppressive, is uniquely protective of religious freedom. At the same time, he calls on secular liberals to understand that healthy religious institutions are crucial to the survival of the liberal state.

Contents:

Prologue: The Dumbest Thing I Ever Wrote

1. Thin Christianity: Faith's Crisis, Democracy's Peril

2. Sharp Christianity: The Church of Fear

3. Thick Christianity: The Gospel of Compromise

Epilogue: A Parting Message.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-148) and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780300281545

0300281544

OCLC:

1481794347