Political Theology for a Plural Age
Michael Jon Kessler
Abstract
Political theology has traditionally explored the legitimization of political authority on the basis of divine revelation and of natural reason informed by religious authority, texts, and traditions. New challenges emerging in the postwar era gave rise to ongoing debate about the place of religion in public life, in the United States and in other established democracies, and this debate has dramatically reshaped the way scholars, policymakers, and religious leaders think about political theology. This book provides historic and contemporary understandings of political engagement in Christianit ... More
Political theology has traditionally explored the legitimization of political authority on the basis of divine revelation and of natural reason informed by religious authority, texts, and traditions. New challenges emerging in the postwar era gave rise to ongoing debate about the place of religion in public life, in the United States and in other established democracies, and this debate has dramatically reshaped the way scholars, policymakers, and religious leaders think about political theology. This book provides historic and contemporary understandings of political engagement in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, engaging political theologies not merely as a set of theoretical concepts but as religious beliefs and principles that motivate specific political action. The chapters examine a number of core issues at the intersection of religion and politics. They contest the definition of political theology, establish a common discourse across the three Abrahamic traditions, and closely examine how globalization, secularization, and pluralism affect the construction and plausibility of political theologies. Finally, the chapters offer insight into how political theologies might adapt to the shared global challenges of the twenty-first century.
Keywords:
political theology,
political authority,
natural reason,
public life,
Christianity,
Judaism,
Islam
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2013 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199769285 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2013 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199769285.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Michael Jon Kessler, editor
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University
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