Just published: Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner, "City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era" (Moody Publishers, October 2010):
www.moodypublishers.com/Publishers/default.asp?SectionID=86DE745783B8435ABFF5832DD9E4C78A&action=details&subid=204BCB5054FD40A6ABFC38298A8E6CE9
Publisher's description: "An era has ended. The political expression that most galvanized evangelicals during the past quarter-century, the Religious Right, is fading. What's ahead is unclear. Millions of faith-based voters still exist, and they continue to care deeply about hot-button issues like abortion and gay marriage, but the shape of their future political engagement remains to be formed. Into this uncertainty, former White House insiders Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner seek to call evangelicals toward a new kind of political engagement – a kind that is better both for the church and the country, a kind that cannot be co-opted by either political party, a kind that avoids the historic mistakes of both the Religious Left and the Religious Right. Incisive, bold, and marked equally by pragmatism and idealism, Gerson and Wehner's new book has the potential to chart a new political future not just for values voters, but for the nation as a whole."
From the foreword by Timothy J. Keller (Westminster Theological Seminary): "A very large number of young evangelicals believe that their churches have become as captured by the Right as mainline churches were captured by the Left. Michael and Pete recognize this and largely agree. But they counsel that political withdrawal is not the correct response, nor should alienated evangelicals go down the mainline path. Instead, they urge careful theological reflection, and the rest of this short volume serves as a guidebook to the issues that will have to be addressed, rather than as a finished manifesto of what this new political theology must be."
Review: "Figuring out the appropriate relationship between politics and religion for Christians is a daunting task. Yet Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner have succeeded brilliantly. In City of Man, they spell out a political theology for 21st century Christians that rejects the narrow thinking of the Religious Right and the creeping secularism of the Religious Left. City of Man is a two-fer. It's an enormously important book on politics and on religion." (Fred Barnes, "Weekly Standard")
Michael Gerson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Center on Faith and International Affairs of the Institute for Global Engagement. Formerly, he served as policy advisor and chief speechwriter to US President George W. Bush.
Peter Wehner is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Under George W. Bush, he served as director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives.
Showing posts with label Christian Right. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Right. Show all posts
02 October 2010
12 September 2010
Book: Faith in Politics: Religion and Liberal Democracy
Just published: Bryan T. McGraw, "Faith in Politics: Religion and Liberal Democracy" (Cambridge University Press, June 2010):
www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521130424
Publisher's description: "No account of contemporary politics can ignore religion. The liberal democratic tradition in political thought has long treated religion with some suspicion, regarding it as a source of division and instability. Faith in Politics shows how such arguments are unpersuasive and dependent on questionable empirical claims: rather than being a serious threat to democracies' legitimacy, stability and freedom, religion can be democratically constructive. Using historical cases of important religious political movements to add empirical weight, Bryan McGraw suggests that religion will remain a significant political force for the foreseeable future and that pluralist democracies would do well to welcome rather than marginalize it."
The book "[a]pplies the moral and philosophical claims to political Islam and the American Christian Right, encouraging readers to rethink how we should view these challenging political movements".
Endorsement: "Bryan McGraw offers a judicious argument for a new integration of religion and politics. Silencing religion as some liberals would do is no less fundamentalist than establishing religion as some Christians have done, he shows. It is far better for modern democracies to foster open toleration and robust engagement of all forms of faith and non-faith that can test and contest each other's policies. It is also far better for modern faith communities to develop an integrated political theology that balances responsible self-rule with reasonable public advocacy – following the example of several nineteenth-century European religious groups. Political historians and political philosophers will learn much from these learned and elegant pages." (John Witte Jr., Emory University)
Bryan T. McGraw is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Wheaton College.
www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521130424
Publisher's description: "No account of contemporary politics can ignore religion. The liberal democratic tradition in political thought has long treated religion with some suspicion, regarding it as a source of division and instability. Faith in Politics shows how such arguments are unpersuasive and dependent on questionable empirical claims: rather than being a serious threat to democracies' legitimacy, stability and freedom, religion can be democratically constructive. Using historical cases of important religious political movements to add empirical weight, Bryan McGraw suggests that religion will remain a significant political force for the foreseeable future and that pluralist democracies would do well to welcome rather than marginalize it."
The book "[a]pplies the moral and philosophical claims to political Islam and the American Christian Right, encouraging readers to rethink how we should view these challenging political movements".
Endorsement: "Bryan McGraw offers a judicious argument for a new integration of religion and politics. Silencing religion as some liberals would do is no less fundamentalist than establishing religion as some Christians have done, he shows. It is far better for modern democracies to foster open toleration and robust engagement of all forms of faith and non-faith that can test and contest each other's policies. It is also far better for modern faith communities to develop an integrated political theology that balances responsible self-rule with reasonable public advocacy – following the example of several nineteenth-century European religious groups. Political historians and political philosophers will learn much from these learned and elegant pages." (John Witte Jr., Emory University)
Bryan T. McGraw is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Wheaton College.
23 March 2010
Book: To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity Today
Just published: James Davison Hunter, "To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity Today" (Oxford University Press USA, March 2010):
www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780199730803
From the publisher's description: "The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive – and provocative – answers to these questions. Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models of world-changing among Christians today, highlighting the ways they are inherently flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which they aspire. Because change implies power, all Christian [sic] eventually embrace strategies of political engagement. Hunter offers a trenchant critique of the political theologies of the Christian Right and Left and the Neo-Anabaptists, taking on many respected leaders, from Charles Colson to Jim Wallis and Stanley Hauerwas. Hunter argues that all too often these political theologies worsen the very problems they are designed to solve."
Endorsement: "How should Christians act in the world? The dominant answer in America today seems to be: through politics. But the major model of Christian political action, visible most obviously but not exclusively in the Christian Right, has been a politics fuelled by resentment and a sense of victimization, actuated by a strong will to power, and a propensity to demonize its opponents. This politics is a capitulation to the worst elements of the contemporary culture it claims to be redeeming. Hunter offers an acute end [sic] penetrating analysis of this paradoxical and distressing phenomenon, and carefully charts an alternative course for contemporary Christians, a form of 'faithful presence' within culture and society." (Charles Taylor, McGill University)
James Davison Hunter is LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory and Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.
www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780199730803
From the publisher's description: "The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive – and provocative – answers to these questions. Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models of world-changing among Christians today, highlighting the ways they are inherently flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which they aspire. Because change implies power, all Christian [sic] eventually embrace strategies of political engagement. Hunter offers a trenchant critique of the political theologies of the Christian Right and Left and the Neo-Anabaptists, taking on many respected leaders, from Charles Colson to Jim Wallis and Stanley Hauerwas. Hunter argues that all too often these political theologies worsen the very problems they are designed to solve."
Endorsement: "How should Christians act in the world? The dominant answer in America today seems to be: through politics. But the major model of Christian political action, visible most obviously but not exclusively in the Christian Right, has been a politics fuelled by resentment and a sense of victimization, actuated by a strong will to power, and a propensity to demonize its opponents. This politics is a capitulation to the worst elements of the contemporary culture it claims to be redeeming. Hunter offers an acute end [sic] penetrating analysis of this paradoxical and distressing phenomenon, and carefully charts an alternative course for contemporary Christians, a form of 'faithful presence' within culture and society." (Charles Taylor, McGill University)
James Davison Hunter is LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory and Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.
26 January 2010
Book: Faith-Based War: From 9/11 to Catastrophic Success in Iraq
T. Walter Herbert, "Faith-Based War: From 9/11 to Catastrophic Success in Iraq" (Equinox, October 2009).From the description on Amazon: "The Bush administration was prompted to invade Iraq by a religious vision that blinded them to the realities of the struggle against terror, and propelled them into moral and political catastrophe. The propaganda campaign that promoted the war, the choice of a self-defeating 'Shock and Awe' invasion, and the expanded torture program bear witness to a faith-based policy that violated democratic ideals and perverted religious truth. The White House embraced a version of Christian nationalism in which the president serves as the agent of God's of wrath to punish evildoers, in keeping with a tradition that descends from the Massachusetts Bay Puritans, who considered themselves a 'chosen people' occupying a 'promised land.' As native peoples resisted Puritan encroachment at the frontiers of expansion, they were marked as devils incarnate, fit for total destruction.
"A modern version of this imperialist vision was invoked on 9/11, when the social and political conditions giving rise to the terrorist atrocity were forgotten, and sanctimonious wrath against evildoers ruled the White House response. At the heart of this religious mythology stands the 'frontier hero,' who takes action when the 'not chosen' strike back against the advance guard of the 'chosen.' [...] The classic mythology of the American frontier allowed Christian militarists in the Religious Right of the Republican party to make common cause with broad sectors of the American public. They achieved predominant influence in the Bush White House, and in the future will seek to regain control over U.S. foreign policy."
www.equinoxpub.com/books/showbook.asp?bkid=169
Reviews: "In trying to expose the flawed political theology that may indeed animate too much of American foreign policy, Herbert simply exchanges one troubling political theology for another. Offended by the Right's secularized 'city on a hill' of imperialism and cultural and economic hegemony, he embraces the Left's secularized 'city on a hill' of international social justice. Disturbed by the Right's politicized Jesus who endorses 'Christian Americanism,' he embraces the Left's politicized Jesus who advocates a new order of humanitarian sympathy." (Richard Gamble, "The American Conservative")
"Herbert's Faith-Based War is a fascinating and richly perceptive blend of social ethical, political, theological, and historical analysis on the moral problem of American empire. Showing the relevance of political theology, it builds to a stunning meditation on the contradictions of 'Christian empire' currently playing out in Iraq." (Gary Dorrien, Union Theological Seminary/Columbia University)
T. Walter Herbert is Professor Emeritus of English at Southwestern University.
09 December 2009
Laestadian-ism: Political theology and civil religion in secularizing Finland
The Academy of Finland's Research Council for Culture and Society has decided to fund a research project on political Laestadianism, "Laestadian-ism: Political Theology and Civil Religion in Secularizing Finland", led by Mika Luoma-aho (Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Lapland), to the tune of 375,000 Euro over the period 1 January 2010 through 31 December 2012.
Project description: "Laestadianism is the largest revivalist movement within the Finnish Lutheran Church. Our project aims to provide current, empirically oriented and theoretically innovative analysis of the political aspects of laestadianism. Laestadianism is a form of 'fundamentalism' that poses no challenge to other Christian denominations or religions, just as it does not in any way aim to subvert the establishment. Quite the contrary: Laestadians have long practiced their religion within the confines of the national Lutheran Church; they have traditionally taken an active role in civil society; and they continue to organize themselves politically through the Finnish parliamentary system. What we see in laestadianism is Finland's Christian Right: it embodies and represents much of what goes under Christian reaction in this country.
"Laestadianism is not a political movement in the conventional sense of the term: it does not have its own party or a political platform. Our project will make the political aspects of laestadianism discernible by approaching it from two conceptual angles. We will (I) politicize the history of Laestadian theology and (II) make explicit the politics of practicing the Laestadian religion today. This we will do (i) by approaching laestadianism as a tradition of political theology; and (ii) by framing laestadianism as a form of civil religion. Our hypothesis is that among the varieties and intensities of civil religion we may identify in Finnish politics today, laestadianism embodies its purest theological expression and most explicit political articulation.
"Laestadianism is important, because there are regions in this country, parties in its political system, where the role of the movement is noteworthy. It is also an interesting movement in itself, because while secular political life sees religion often in personal terms, there is a politically active and outspoken movement in this secular age that believes otherwise. The Laestadians believe that the state has a very specific theological meaning: it is government established by God and in its proper functioning his rule and reign are in stake [sic]. There is a sharp contrast between the world-views of laestadianism and that of the secular majority of 'Finns'.
"There is a desperate need for political research on the Laestadian movement. Our project will provide up-to-date information on its political history, religiously structured view of social life, and political significance in Finland today. This information is needed to overcome prejudice in society. Furthermore: we will use this information ourselves in contributing to current debates on the relationship between organized religion and the institution of the secular, national state."
The project already has a blog, "Laestadian-ism":
http://laestadian-ism.blogspot.com/
According to it, Laestadianism is "based on the heritage of a Sami botanist and preacher Lars Levi Laestadius" (1800-1861). "In our research we combine current theoretical literatures on political theology and civil religion with an empirically oriented approach to the movement in Finnish society. This weblog will be updated with current information on project events and public relations, commentary and analysis on issues touching the laestadian movement in Finland and elsewhere, as well as debates on political theology and civil religion in general".
Project contact: mika@luoma-aho.fi
Project description: "Laestadianism is the largest revivalist movement within the Finnish Lutheran Church. Our project aims to provide current, empirically oriented and theoretically innovative analysis of the political aspects of laestadianism. Laestadianism is a form of 'fundamentalism' that poses no challenge to other Christian denominations or religions, just as it does not in any way aim to subvert the establishment. Quite the contrary: Laestadians have long practiced their religion within the confines of the national Lutheran Church; they have traditionally taken an active role in civil society; and they continue to organize themselves politically through the Finnish parliamentary system. What we see in laestadianism is Finland's Christian Right: it embodies and represents much of what goes under Christian reaction in this country.
"Laestadianism is not a political movement in the conventional sense of the term: it does not have its own party or a political platform. Our project will make the political aspects of laestadianism discernible by approaching it from two conceptual angles. We will (I) politicize the history of Laestadian theology and (II) make explicit the politics of practicing the Laestadian religion today. This we will do (i) by approaching laestadianism as a tradition of political theology; and (ii) by framing laestadianism as a form of civil religion. Our hypothesis is that among the varieties and intensities of civil religion we may identify in Finnish politics today, laestadianism embodies its purest theological expression and most explicit political articulation.
"Laestadianism is important, because there are regions in this country, parties in its political system, where the role of the movement is noteworthy. It is also an interesting movement in itself, because while secular political life sees religion often in personal terms, there is a politically active and outspoken movement in this secular age that believes otherwise. The Laestadians believe that the state has a very specific theological meaning: it is government established by God and in its proper functioning his rule and reign are in stake [sic]. There is a sharp contrast between the world-views of laestadianism and that of the secular majority of 'Finns'.
"There is a desperate need for political research on the Laestadian movement. Our project will provide up-to-date information on its political history, religiously structured view of social life, and political significance in Finland today. This information is needed to overcome prejudice in society. Furthermore: we will use this information ourselves in contributing to current debates on the relationship between organized religion and the institution of the secular, national state."
The project already has a blog, "Laestadian-ism":
http://laestadian-ism.blogspot.com/
According to it, Laestadianism is "based on the heritage of a Sami botanist and preacher Lars Levi Laestadius" (1800-1861). "In our research we combine current theoretical literatures on political theology and civil religion with an empirically oriented approach to the movement in Finnish society. This weblog will be updated with current information on project events and public relations, commentary and analysis on issues touching the laestadian movement in Finland and elsewhere, as well as debates on political theology and civil religion in general".
Project contact: mika@luoma-aho.fi
05 November 2009
CFP: Culture Wars in the United States
Conference of the Center for United States Studies, Raoul Dandurand Chair, University of Québec at Montreal, Canada, 14 October 2010
www.dandurand.uqam.ca
Call for papers: "Culture Wars in the United States: The Politics of Religious Conservatism in the Obama Era"
Theme: During the Republican Party's national convention in 1992, the ultraconservative politician Pat Buchanan claimed that a "culture war" was raging in the US. He saw it as a fight to define the American people's national identity – what America signifies as a society, what Americans were in the past, what they are today, and what they will become in future. In fact, the culture war has been the hobbyhorse of many US social and political actors, or culture warriors, since the 1970s. In their view, the secular, liberal elites have seized power in the US and are trying to destroy the spiritual foundations of American society. In response, the culture warriors are trying by all possible means to persuade Americans and their elected representatives to make the favourite issues of religious conservatives and the Christian Right the focal point of political debate.
There are several types of culture warriors, and they are waging a variety of "wars". Culture warriors can include the US President himself, as when George W. Bush proposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. They also include judges who insist on having the Ten Commandments embroidered on their robes, pastors who encourage Christian pre-teens to reject homosexuality, bloggers who condemn nudity in video games, and media personalities like Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck who try to discredit anti-war groups, feminists, hip-hop artists, and others.
The first few months of Barack Obama's presidency have shown that the culture wars continue unabated (a proposal to ban gay marriage in California was passed on the same day Obama was elected; in May 2009, a pro-life activist murdered a doctor who performed late-term abortions, etc.). Accordingly, the goal of this conference is to generate a deeper understanding of culture wars and their impact on US society and policies.
The organizers are promoting a multidisciplinary approach. They are therefore inviting scholars from a broad range of disciplines – political scientists, historians, specialists in political communication, linguists, sociologists, philosophers, religious studies experts, etc. – to participate.
Participants will be invited to contribute their papers for publication in a collection (book or special issue of a peer-reviewed journal) after the conference.
Research angles and themes (not exhaustive): Concepts and theories pertaining to culture wars, religious conservatism, and the Christian Right in the US; Linkages between religion, conservatism, and politics in the US; Case studies of actors in the culture wars; Analysis of culture warriors' discourses; Culture war issues (gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, control of firearms, death penalty, pornography, separation of church/religion and state/politics, etc.); History of culture wars, religious conservatism, and the Christian Right in the US (context of emergence, changes over time); Comparative studies on different types of religious conservatism (with reference to the US case); Political parties and culture wars in the US; Role of left-wing actors (feminist, pro-gay-marriage, pro-choice groups, etc.) in culture wars; Representations of culture wars in popular culture (movies, cartoons, video games, advertising, TV series, novels, etc.); Communication, political and legislative strategies of culture war actors; Analyses of public opinion polls on culture wars; Electoral impacts of culture wars; Local and regional aspects of culture wars; Media coverage of culture wars; International perceptions of culture wars, religious conservatism, and the Christian Right in the United States.
Proposals should be a maximum of 300 words long and should include the following: family name(s) and first name(s) of author(s)/collaborator(s); title(s), function(s), and home institution(s); contact information (mailing address, telephone number, e-mail); paper title, research question, and main arguments and outline of underlying analytical framework. Proposals (and the papers themselves) may be in English or French.
A scientific review committee will evaluate proposals and will announce the selected papers in mid-March 2010.
Please send your proposal by e-mail (in a Word attachment) to Catherine Goulet-Cloutier: goulet-cloutier.catherine@uqam.ca
Deadline for proposals (paper abstracts): 15 January 2010
For information about the conference, contact Prof Frédérick Gagnon: gagnon.frederick@uqam.ca
Note: After the conference, the organizers will ask participants to send them a text for publication in a collection.
www.dandurand.uqam.ca
Call for papers: "Culture Wars in the United States: The Politics of Religious Conservatism in the Obama Era"
Theme: During the Republican Party's national convention in 1992, the ultraconservative politician Pat Buchanan claimed that a "culture war" was raging in the US. He saw it as a fight to define the American people's national identity – what America signifies as a society, what Americans were in the past, what they are today, and what they will become in future. In fact, the culture war has been the hobbyhorse of many US social and political actors, or culture warriors, since the 1970s. In their view, the secular, liberal elites have seized power in the US and are trying to destroy the spiritual foundations of American society. In response, the culture warriors are trying by all possible means to persuade Americans and their elected representatives to make the favourite issues of religious conservatives and the Christian Right the focal point of political debate.
There are several types of culture warriors, and they are waging a variety of "wars". Culture warriors can include the US President himself, as when George W. Bush proposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. They also include judges who insist on having the Ten Commandments embroidered on their robes, pastors who encourage Christian pre-teens to reject homosexuality, bloggers who condemn nudity in video games, and media personalities like Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck who try to discredit anti-war groups, feminists, hip-hop artists, and others.
The first few months of Barack Obama's presidency have shown that the culture wars continue unabated (a proposal to ban gay marriage in California was passed on the same day Obama was elected; in May 2009, a pro-life activist murdered a doctor who performed late-term abortions, etc.). Accordingly, the goal of this conference is to generate a deeper understanding of culture wars and their impact on US society and policies.
The organizers are promoting a multidisciplinary approach. They are therefore inviting scholars from a broad range of disciplines – political scientists, historians, specialists in political communication, linguists, sociologists, philosophers, religious studies experts, etc. – to participate.
Participants will be invited to contribute their papers for publication in a collection (book or special issue of a peer-reviewed journal) after the conference.
Research angles and themes (not exhaustive): Concepts and theories pertaining to culture wars, religious conservatism, and the Christian Right in the US; Linkages between religion, conservatism, and politics in the US; Case studies of actors in the culture wars; Analysis of culture warriors' discourses; Culture war issues (gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, control of firearms, death penalty, pornography, separation of church/religion and state/politics, etc.); History of culture wars, religious conservatism, and the Christian Right in the US (context of emergence, changes over time); Comparative studies on different types of religious conservatism (with reference to the US case); Political parties and culture wars in the US; Role of left-wing actors (feminist, pro-gay-marriage, pro-choice groups, etc.) in culture wars; Representations of culture wars in popular culture (movies, cartoons, video games, advertising, TV series, novels, etc.); Communication, political and legislative strategies of culture war actors; Analyses of public opinion polls on culture wars; Electoral impacts of culture wars; Local and regional aspects of culture wars; Media coverage of culture wars; International perceptions of culture wars, religious conservatism, and the Christian Right in the United States.
Proposals should be a maximum of 300 words long and should include the following: family name(s) and first name(s) of author(s)/collaborator(s); title(s), function(s), and home institution(s); contact information (mailing address, telephone number, e-mail); paper title, research question, and main arguments and outline of underlying analytical framework. Proposals (and the papers themselves) may be in English or French.
A scientific review committee will evaluate proposals and will announce the selected papers in mid-March 2010.
Please send your proposal by e-mail (in a Word attachment) to Catherine Goulet-Cloutier: goulet-cloutier.catherine@uqam.ca
Deadline for proposals (paper abstracts): 15 January 2010
For information about the conference, contact Prof Frédérick Gagnon: gagnon.frederick@uqam.ca
Note: After the conference, the organizers will ask participants to send them a text for publication in a collection.
17 February 2009
Political theology "to the right of God"
Those speaking (reading) German may be interested in an article on the links between the Christian right (in Europe) and political right-wing extremism that appeared in this week's edition of the (notoriously anti-Christian) German magazine “Spiegel”:
www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,607625,00.html
The argument, in the words of the Vicar General of the Society of St. Pius X, goes that conservatism today has to be political theology (“politische Theologie”) in order to break the dominance of the left and liberalism, thereby casting the cultural hegemony of Islam and the Islamic takeover of urban areas in Western Europe as the enemy that has to be fought off. A conservative counter-revolution, he argues, is impossible without the rediscovery of religion as a public matter, which has to be spiritually based on the Catholic church.
For more on conservatism and political theology, see this 2007 contribution to the political extreme-right publication "Junge Freiheit":
www.jf-archiv.de/archiv07/200723060158.htm
Which essay refers to a little-known political theologian, Nicolás Gómez Dávila:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_G%C3%B3mez_D%C3%A1vila
The central outlet of the proponents of such a political theology, according to the "Spiegel", is a website (“Catholic news”):
www.kreuz.net
There to be found is, for example, a scathing criticism of the "new political theology" of J.B. Metz:
www.kreuz.net/article.7630.html
www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,607625,00.html
The argument, in the words of the Vicar General of the Society of St. Pius X, goes that conservatism today has to be political theology (“politische Theologie”) in order to break the dominance of the left and liberalism, thereby casting the cultural hegemony of Islam and the Islamic takeover of urban areas in Western Europe as the enemy that has to be fought off. A conservative counter-revolution, he argues, is impossible without the rediscovery of religion as a public matter, which has to be spiritually based on the Catholic church.
For more on conservatism and political theology, see this 2007 contribution to the political extreme-right publication "Junge Freiheit":
www.jf-archiv.de/archiv07/200723060158.htm
Which essay refers to a little-known political theologian, Nicolás Gómez Dávila:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_G%C3%B3mez_D%C3%A1vila
The central outlet of the proponents of such a political theology, according to the "Spiegel", is a website (“Catholic news”):
www.kreuz.net
There to be found is, for example, a scathing criticism of the "new political theology" of J.B. Metz:
www.kreuz.net/article.7630.html
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