Theology, Political Theory, and Pluralism

Kristen Deede Johnson is Associate Director of The CrossRoads Project and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Hope College, Michigan.

• 1. Introduction; 2. The recent journey of liberal tolerance; 3. Beyond tolerance to difference; 4. Augustine and the theological turn; 5. Towards a theology of public conversation; 6. Conclusion.

Review of the hardback: 'In this book, Kristen Johnson [argues] for a pluralism of public spaces [that] takes us fruitfully beyond the 'great unexamined assumption' of the nation-state. On the way, Johnson provides the best available survey of liberal and agonist political theories. She then turns to Augustine for a theological way to imagine a harmony of political identity and difference. In her writing Johnson does not merely argue for, but exemplifies, the fidelity to particularity and graciousness toward difference at the basis of her political theory. Johnson rises above the noise of the 'clash of civilizations' to give us a way to deal with difference without war.' William T. Cavanaugh, Associate Professor of Theology, University of St. Thomas