Over the past few decades, American politics has become something like the combination of a war, a carnival, and a Hollywood movie. It has been reduced to little more than theatrics and partisan combat. Because of this, many Americans have a negative view of the political sphere even as they participate in it through party [ Read More ]
It was my privilege to live in Russia from 1998-2000, where I met Vladimir Putin and spoke with him briefly. He was campaigning for President. I knew my Russian friends were excited out of their minds about his candidacy, but I didn’t pay much attention to the encounter; I figured I’d just met a relatively [ Read More ]
Out of the Catholic and Orthodox traditions emerged newly-formed streams of Christianity. Those traditions both drew upon, and reacted against, the other traditions. In this installment, we will explore briefly some of the main distinctives of these traditions as they sought to formulate the proper approach to the political sphere. We will begin with the [ Read More ]
In the wake of Augustine’s magisterial City of God, and the ensuing weakening of the Roman Empire, the church continued to reflect upon, and develop its approach toward politics. After the schism that resulted in the formation of an Eastern Orthodox church distinct from the Roman Catholicism, some differences of approach emerged. In this installment, [ Read More ]
What Hath Christianity To Do with Politics?: (Pt:1: The Bible and Politics) In a nation divided socially, culturally, and politically, there is a necessity to reflect upon the proper relationship between Christianity and politics. As Richard John Neuhaus often remarked, politics is a function of culture at large, and culture is always underlain by religion [ Read More ]
America has always been more religiously devout than other Western democracies. But now, like them, it has begun to secularize rapidly. And, as religion has declined, political ideology has intensified, society has fragmented, and cultural common ground has disintegrated. As a result, politics is increasingly divisive and existentially fraught. For over three decades, debates about [ Read More ]
These days, many Americans reject strong forms of religion. Christianity, in particular, is often embraced only in weak forms or as a mere tool for social and cultural transformation; the more muscular and biblical forms of Christianity are often ignored or rejected. Additionally, individuals are more attentive to images than to words and are addicted [ Read More ]
It’s an age-old question, made more relevant by the insistence of media outlets and political pundits: Should pastors directly address contemporary political issues? Some commentators argue that Christianity offers a moral framework that is directly relevant to policy issues and thus the pastor should speak to politics. At other times the argument is made that [ Read More ]
“Never discuss religion or politics with those who hold opinions opposite to yours; they are subjects that heat in handling, until they burn your fingers.” So wrote Thomas Chandler Haliburton, a Canadian politician and judge, in 1840. Haliburton is not alone. He was merely expressing what many modern Westerners think: we shouldn’t talk about religion [ Read More ]