Theology and Public Philosophy

Kenneth L. Grasso is professor of political science at Texas State University-San Marcos.Cecilia Rodriguez Castillo is assistant professor of political science at Texas State University-San Marcos.

• Introduction“Theology and the American Civil Conversation”Kenneth L. GrassoPart I: Religion, Morality, and Modernity’s Discontents“The Perils of Moralism”Charles TaylorResponses “Ockham’s Children: Nomolatry, Nominalism and Contemporary Moral Culture”Kenneth L. Grasso“Nomolatry and Fidelity”Fred Dallmayr“Moralism and Its Traps”William SchweikerPart II: Theology and the Foundations of Political Authority “‘For the Authorities are God’s Servants’: Is a Theistic Account of Political Authority Still Viable Or Have Humanist Accounts Won the Day?”Nicholas WolterstorffResponses: “Two Theories, Not One”J. Budziszewski“On the Origin and Nature of Political Authority”Jeanne Heffernan Schindler“Is Consent a Theological Category?”Joshua MitchellPart III: Religion, Culture and Public Dialogue“Consensus and Commitment: Real People, Religious Reasons and Public Discourse”Robin LovinResponses:“Reframing the Conversation”Charles Mathewes“Why We Can Talk to Each Other”Jonathan Chaplin“Liberal Democracy: An Alternative to the Idolatry of the Nation State?”Michael L. BuddePart IV: The Problem of Pluralism“Moral Traditions”Jean PorterResponses: “Adjudicating Moral Inquiry: Scientific Reason and/or Dialogical Encounters”Eloise A. Buker“Alasdair MacIntyre: Closet Liberal”Christopher Beem“Taking the American Moral Tradition Seriously”Peter BerkowitzEpilogue:“Concluding Reflection”Jean Bethke Elshtain

Grasso and Castillo have here assembled a “dream team” of eminent thinkers who seek to deepen and enrich our ideas about the role of religion in public life. The result is a consistently lively and engaging volume, with a strong underlying message for the future: The recovery of a viable public philosophy will almost certainly need to find ways to draw on the substantive resources of religious thought and practice if it is to succeed.