Democratic Faith

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Democratic Faith

Patrick Deneen
Democratic Faith Book PDF

Author : Patrick Deneen
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 389 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2009-01-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400826896

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Democratic Faith by Patrick Deneen Pdf

The American political reformer Herbert Croly wrote, "For better or worse, democracy cannot be disentangled from an aspiration toward human perfectibility." Democratic Faith is at once a trenchant analysis and a powerful critique of this underlying assumption that informs democratic theory. Patrick Deneen argues that among democracy's most ardent supporters there is an oft-expressed belief in the need to "transform" human beings in order to reconcile the sometimes disappointing reality of human self-interest with the democratic ideal of selfless commitment. This "transformative impulse" is frequently couched in religious language, such as the need for political "redemption." This is all the more striking given the frequent accompanying condemnation of traditional religious belief that informs the "democratic faith.? At the same time, because so often this democratic ideal fails to materialize, democratic faith is often subject to a particularly intense form of disappointment. A mutually reinforcing cycle of faith and disillusionment is frequently exhibited by those who profess a democratic faith--in effect imperiling democratic commitments due to the cynicism of its most fervent erstwhile supporters. Deneen argues that democracy is ill-served by such faith. Instead, he proposes a form of "democratic realism" that recognizes democracy not as a regime with aspirations to perfection, but that justifies democracy as the regime most appropriate for imperfect humans. If democratic faith aspires to transformation, democratic realism insists on the central importance of humility, hope, and charity.

Faith in Action

Richard L. Wood
Faith in Action Book PDF

Author : Richard L. Wood
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 366 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2002-09-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226905969

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Faith in Action by Richard L. Wood Pdf

Over the past fifteen years, associations throughout the U.S. have organized citizens around issues of equality and social justice, often through local churches. But in contrast to President Bush's vision of faith-based activism, in which groups deliver social services to the needy, these associations do something greater. Drawing on institutions of faith, they reshape public policies that neglect the disadvantaged. To find out how this faith-based form of community organizing succeeds, Richard L. Wood spent several years working with two local groups in Oakland, California—the faith-based Pacific Institute for Community Organization and the race-based Center for Third World Organizing. Comparing their activist techniques and achievements, Wood argues that the alternative cultures and strategies of these two groups give them radically different access to community ties and social capital. Creative and insightful, Faith in Action shows how community activism and religious organizations can help build a more just and democratic future for all Americans.

American Pragmatism and Democratic Faith

Robert J. Lacey
American Pragmatism and Democratic Faith Book PDF

Author : Robert J. Lacey
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Democracy
ISBN : UOM:39015073861489

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American Pragmatism and Democratic Faith by Robert J. Lacey Pdf

In June 1962, a group calling themselves the Students for a Democratic Society gathered at a retreat in rural Michigan to discuss and revise their founding manifesto. The result of that meeting was the famous Port Huron Statement, a document that not only reflected their disenchantment with America's elite-controlled social and political institutions but also called for the creation of a "participatory democracy" in which all citizens engage in public life and share the responsibility of political decision making. This demand for participatory democracy characterized the New Left ethos and captured the imagination of a generation of radicals and political activists from the late 1950s to the close of the 1960s. So, why did participatory democracy fail to materialize in any recognizable form? Why was it forced to retreat from mainstream public discourse into the academy? Its fate, political scientist Robert Lacey asserts, was determined in large part by its intellectual origins. The idea of participatory democracy germinated in the philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, founders of American pragmatism, and fully blossomed in the work of John Dewey, who argued that democracy should (and could) be a "way of life" for every person. Dewey rested his democratic faith on three pragmatist tenets: truth is probabilistic and socially determined; humans are malleable and educable; and humans, endowed with free will, can act collectively for their individual and social betterment. When the realities of modern life in the mid- to late-twentieth century posed serious challenges to these tenets, the very foundation of participatory democratic thought began to crumble. Yet, willfully disregarding the rubble, C. Wright Mills, Sheldon Wolin, Benjamin Barber, and other theorists have continued to support participatory democracy as a viable political idea. Today's participatory democrats have constructed a fragile theoretical enterprise that rests on questionable assumptions inherited from the pragmatist tradition about truth, human nature, and free will. Tracing the history of a salient idea in American political thought, Lacey elucidates the assumptions underlying participatory democracy, assesses both its usefulness and coherence, and ultimately reveals it to be less a theory than a faith--a faith that has largely failed to follow through on its promise.

Dewey and Power

Randy Hewitt
Dewey and Power Book PDF

Author : Randy Hewitt
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 148 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2007-01-01
Category : Education
ISBN : 9789087903404

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Dewey and Power by Randy Hewitt Pdf

Dewey and Power develops out of criticism that John Dewey’s work lacks a sufficient concept of power, thus rendering his faith in an amelioristic sense of experience and a democratic ideal untenable. According to philosopher Cornel West, Dewey gives ameliorism its most mature social, political, and ethical justification. Alan Ryan suggests that Dewey represented “thinking America” at its best. Dewey’s critics maintain, however, that this best is not good enough. If their criticism of Dewey goes unchallenged, one of the most intelligent, philosophically consistent visions of ethical behavior in a world shot through with difference, risk, danger, and change becomes damned. The upshot is lost faith in the idea that the give and take of mutual reference and pooled intelligence can lead to ever wider points of contact with each other that will enrich the significance of our individual quests together. Furthermore, lost faith in ameliorism and democracy implies a lost faith in a democratic education. The purpose of Dewey and Power, therefore, is to explore the diverse critiques of his alleged insufficient concept of power and to represent Dewey’s work in a way that his critics’ claims can be evaluated. The key word here is evaluate. The book is not a simple apology for Dewey’s position on these matters. First, the book works out Dewey’s concept of power as it comes out of his understanding of the psycho-physiological makeup of the human organism. Then the analysis of power as it is psycho-physiologically interpreted is extended to incorporate Dewey’s ontological insights, especially that of the directing influence of social custom on habit. This process unveils a concept of power that includes both domination and liberation. Furthermore, the relation between Dewey’s sense of power and his faith in a democratic ideal is drawn out in explicit detail. Next, the book provides a full delineation of Dewey’s critics’ claims and measures the worth of these claims in light of what the preceding examination suggests in reference to Dewey’s idea of power. This analysis makes clear that Dewey understood that power can be as productively oppressive as it can be productively liberating. Finally, the book traces out why Dewey’s concept of power can be deployed in the construction of a critical, democratic education.

The Democratic Faith

Paul M. Sniderman
The Democratic Faith Book PDF

Author : Paul M. Sniderman
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2017-09-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300231915

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The Democratic Faith by Paul M. Sniderman Pdf

Can the citizens of a democracy be trusted to run it properly? Modern political science has concentrated on cataloguing voters’ failings—their lack of knowledge, tolerance, or consistency in political thinking. While it would be a mistake to think this portrait of citizens is simply wrong, it is a deeper mistake to accept it as a satisfactory likeness. In this book, Paul Sniderman demonstrates that a concentration on the pathologies of citizens’ political thinking has obscured the intense clash of opposing belief systems in the electorate. He shows how a concentration on racism has distorted understanding of the politics of race by keeping out of sight those who think well of black Americans. And he exposes the fallacy of spotlighting the dangers of mass politics while ignoring those of elite politics.

Faith in Democracy

Mahmoud Masaeli,Nikolaos Asproulis,Rico Sneller,Timo Slootweg
Faith in Democracy Book PDF

Author : Mahmoud Masaeli,Nikolaos Asproulis,Rico Sneller,Timo Slootweg
Publisher : Gompel&Svacina
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2020-01-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9789463711890

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Faith in Democracy by Mahmoud Masaeli,Nikolaos Asproulis,Rico Sneller,Timo Slootweg Pdf

This book explores the spiritual potential of faith, mysticism and transcendence in answer to the dangers of a mythologised state and the sacro-sanctification of (liberal) democracy and its rule of law. It searches for a curative for the pathological transformation of these institutions into – so called – political religions. Along this line, it explores the importance of spirituality and transcendence for political legitimacy, democratic participation and international cooperation, law and politics. There being no general agreed-upon definition of ‘spirituality’, the authors examine what may be seen as ‘spiritual’ dimensions of the political. These dimensions have in common a focus on transcendence as a vanishing point of rationality and rational justification. This vanishing point may become manifest, for example, in a primordial requisite of becoming an individual person; in responding – in freedom – to the call of theocracy; in the phenomenon of prophecy or political wisdom; in the remaining shards of formerly all-pervasive religious institutions; in tenacious hope for a democracy-to-come; in the courageous resilience and resistance of citizens of ‘non-’ or ‘un-democratic’ states; etc. The authors of this book, philosophers, theologians, psychologists, jurists and others, are more or less suspicious of the Modern theories of the social contract allegedly justifying democracy. It may turn out, however, that the inexhaustive and unfathomable dimension of ‘faith’ which comes up as an alternative is not so easy to handle as a ‘rational argument’. This ‘impracticality’ of faith and transcendence might be the irreducible yet indispensable predicament of democracy.

Faith in Democracy

Jonathan Chaplin
Faith in Democracy Book PDF

Author : Jonathan Chaplin
Publisher : SCM Press
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2021-04-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780334060239

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Faith in Democracy by Jonathan Chaplin Pdf

What is the place of faith in public life in the UK? Beyond ‘secularism’ that seeks to relegate faith to the margins of public life, and a ‘Christian nation’ position that seeks to retain, or even regain, Christian public privilege, there is a third way. Faith in Democracy: Framing a Politics of Deep Diversity calls for an approach that maximises public space for the expression of faith-based visions within democratic fora while repudiating all traces of religious privilege. It argues for a truly conversational space, reflecting theologically on the contested concepts at the heart of the current debate about the place of faith in British public life: democracy, secularism, pluralism and public faith.

John Dewey

Steven Rockefeller
John Dewey Book PDF

Author : Steven Rockefeller
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 702 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 1994-03-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780231073493

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John Dewey by Steven Rockefeller Pdf

Combining ?biography and intellectual history, Steven Rockefeller offers an illuminating introduction to the philosophy of John Dewey, with special emphasis on the evolution of the religious faith and moral vision at the heart of his thought. This study pays particular attention to Dewey's radical democratic reconstruction of Christianity and his many contributions to the American tradition of spiritual democracy. Rockefeller presents the first full exploration of Dewey's religious thought, including its mystical dimension. Covering Dewey's entire intellectual life, the author provides a clear introduction to Dewey's early neo-Hegelian idealism as well as to his later naturalistic metaphysics, epistemology, theory of education, theory of evaluation, and philosophy of religion. The author tells the story of the evolution of this faith and philosophical vision, offering fresh insight into the enduring value of the thought of America's foremost philosopher.

This Life

Martin Hägglund
This Life Book PDF

Author : Martin Hägglund
Publisher : Anchor
Page : 466 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2020-02-04
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781101873731

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This Life by Martin Hägglund Pdf

Winner of the René Wellek Prize Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Millions, and The Sydney Morning Herald This Life offers a profoundly inspiring basis for transforming our lives, demonstrating that our commitment to freedom and democracy should lead us beyond both religion and capitalism. Philosopher Martin Hägglund argues that we need to cultivate not a religious faith in eternity but a secular faith devoted to our finite life together. He shows that all spiritual questions of freedom are inseparable from economic and material conditions: what matters is how we treat one another in this life and what we do with our time. Engaging with great philosophers from Aristotle to Hegel and Marx, literary writers from Dante to Proust and Knausgaard, political economists from Mill to Keynes and Hayek, and religious thinkers from Augustine to Kierkegaard and Martin Luther King, Jr., Hägglund points the way to an emancipated life.

Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy

David M. Elcott,C. Colt Anderson,Tobias Cremer,Volker Haarmann
Faith Nationalism and the Future of Liberal Democracy Book PDF

Author : David M. Elcott,C. Colt Anderson,Tobias Cremer,Volker Haarmann
Publisher : University of Notre Dame Pess
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2021-05-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780268200596

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Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy by David M. Elcott,C. Colt Anderson,Tobias Cremer,Volker Haarmann Pdf

Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy highlights the use of religious identity to fuel the rise of illiberal, nationalist, and populist democracy. In Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy, David Elcott, C. Colt Anderson, Tobias Cremer, and Volker Haarmann present a pragmatic and modernist exploration of how religion engages in the public square. Elcott and his co-authors are concerned about the ways religious identity is being used to foster the exclusion of individuals and communities from citizenship, political representation, and a role in determining public policy. They examine the ways religious identity is weaponized to fuel populist revolts against a political, social, and economic order that values democracy in a global and strikingly diverse world. Included is a history and political analysis of religion, politics, and policies in Europe and the United States that foster this illiberal rebellion. The authors explore what constitutes a constructive religious voice in the political arena, even in nurturing patriotism and democracy, and what undermines and threatens liberal democracies. To lay the groundwork for a religious response, the book offers chapters showing how Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism can nourish liberal democracy. The authors encourage people of faith to promote foundational support for the institutions and values of the democratic enterprise from within their own religious traditions and to stand against the hostility and cruelty that historically have resulted when religious zealotry and state power combine. Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy is intended for readers who value democracy and are concerned about growing threats to it, and especially for people of faith and religious leaders, as well as for scholars of political science, religion, and democracy.

The Dream Is Freedom

Sarah Azaransky
The Dream Is Freedom Book PDF

Author : Sarah Azaransky
Publisher : OUP USA
Page : 175 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2011-04
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780199744817

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The Dream Is Freedom by Sarah Azaransky Pdf

An introduction to Pauli Murray - poet, lawyer, trailblazing civil rights and feminist activist, and priest - as a significant twentieth century African American intellectual who grounded her calls for democratic transformation in Christian concepts of reconciliation and the coming kingdom.

Democratic Religion

Gregory A. Wills
Democratic Religion Book PDF

Author : Gregory A. Wills
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2003-03-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9780195160994

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Democratic Religion by Gregory A. Wills Pdf

No American denomination identified itself more closely with the nation's democratic ideal than the Baptists. Most antebellum southern Baptist churches allowed women and slaves to vote on membership matters and preferred populists preachers who addressed their appeals to the common person. Paradoxically no denomination could wield religious authority as zealously as the Baptists. Between 1785 and 1860 they ritually excommunicated forty to fifty thousand church members in Georgia alone. Wills demonstrates how a denomination of freedom-loving individualists came to embrace an exclusivist spirituality--a spirituality that continues to shape Southern Baptist churches in contemporary conflicts between moderates who urge tolerance and conservatives who require belief in scriptural inerrancy. Wills's analysis advances our understanding of the interaction between democracy and religious authority, and will appeal to scholars of American religion, culture, and history, as well as to Baptist observers.

Have a Little Faith

Benjamin Justice,Colin Macleod
Have a Little Faith Book PDF

Author : Benjamin Justice,Colin Macleod
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 189 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2016-11-09
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780226400594

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Have a Little Faith by Benjamin Justice,Colin Macleod Pdf

It isn’t just in recent arguments over the teaching of intelligent design or reciting the pledge of allegiance that religion and education have butted heads: since their beginnings nearly two centuries ago, public schools have been embroiled in heated controversies over religion’s place in the education system of a pluralistic nation. In this book, Benjamin Justice and Colin Macleod take up this rich and significant history of conflict with renewed clarity and astonishing breadth. Moving from the American Revolution to the present—from the common schools of the nineteenth century to the charter schools of the twenty-first—they offer one of the most comprehensive assessments of religion and education in America that has ever been published. From Bible readings and school prayer to teaching evolution and cultivating religious tolerance, Justice and Macleod consider the key issues and colorful characters that have shaped the way American schools have attempted to negotiate religious pluralism in a politically legitimate fashion. While schools and educational policies have not always advanced tolerance and understanding, Justice and Macleod point to the many efforts Americans have made to find a place for religion in public schools that both acknowledges the importance of faith to so many citizens and respects democratic ideals that insist upon a reasonable separation of church and state. Finally, they apply the lessons of history and political philosophy to an analysis of three critical areas of religious controversy in public education today: student-led religious observances in extracurricular activities, the tensions between freedom of expression and the need for inclusive environments, and the shift from democratic control of schools to loosely regulated charter and voucher programs. Altogether Justice and Macleod show how the interpretation of educational history through the lens of contemporary democratic theory offers both a richer understanding of past disputes and new ways of addressing contemporary challenges.

Resurrecting Democracy

Luke Bretherton
Resurrecting Democracy Book PDF

Author : Luke Bretherton
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 491 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781107030398

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Resurrecting Democracy by Luke Bretherton Pdf

This book assesses the construction of citizenship as an identity, a performance, and a shared rationality.

Prophets and Patriots

Ruth Braunstein
Prophets and Patriots Book PDF

Author : Ruth Braunstein
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2017-05-23
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780520293656

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Prophets and Patriots by Ruth Braunstein Pdf

Introduction -- Becoming active citizens -- Narratives of active citizenship -- Putting faith in action -- Holding government accountable -- Styles of active citizenship -- Conclusion