Resurrecting Democracy

Luke Bretherton is Professor of Theological Ethics and Senior Fellow of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, North Carolina. Before Duke, he was Reader in Theology and Politics at King's College London (2004–12). His other books include Hospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral Diversity (2006) and Christianity and Contemporary Politics: The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness (2010), winner of the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. As well as academic journals and books he writes for the media on issues related to religion and politics. This book grows out of a three-year Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project for which he was principal investigator (2008–11).

• Introduction; Part I: 1. The origins of organizing: an intellectual history; 2. Faith and citizenship in a world city; 3. Reimagining the secular: interfaith relations as a civic practice; 4. An anatomy of organizing I: listening, analysis, and building power; 5. An anatomy of organizing II: capacity, action, and representation; Part II: 6. Civil society as the body politic; 7. Sovereignty and consociational democracy; 8. Economy, debt, and citizenship; Conclusion.

'Dr Luke Bretherton has written a book of both great range and extraordinary depth. Whether detailing the inner workings of a citizens organization, leading readers through a history of social change, or reflecting on the philosophical and theological foundations that inform what Ella Baker termed 'the slow and respectful work' of democracy, his prose has the clarity and verve usually found in pieces written by accomplished essayists or masterful journalists. He has managed to be academically sound without cluttering his pages with academic jargon. Resurrecting Democracy is respectful, but never slow. It sets a new and very high standard for all those who wish to write about leaders and institutions struggling to create what the author calls the politics of a common life.' Michael Gecan, Co-Director, Industrial Areas Foundation