Democracy and the New Religious Pluralism / Edition 1

by Thomas Banchoff

Overview

Religious pluralism is everywhere in today's politics. Increased immigration flows, the collapse of communism, and the globalization of communications technologies have all fostered a wider variety of religious beliefs, practices, and organizations within and across democratic societies. This is true in both the United States and Europe, where growing and diverse minority communities are transforming the political landscape. As a result, controversies over such things as headscarves and depictions of Mohammed are unsettling a largely secular Europe, while a Christian majority in the US faces familiar questions about church-state relations amidst unprecedented religious diversity. Far from receding into the background, religious language pervades arguments around established issues such as abortion and capital punishment, and new ones such as stem cell research and same-sex marriage. In Democracy and the New Religious Pluralism, leading scholars from multiple disciplines explore these dynamics and their implications for democratic theory and practice. What are the contours of this new religious pluralism? What are its implications for the theory and practice of democracy? Does increasing religious pluralism erode the cultural and social foundations of democracy? To what extent do different religious communities embrace similar — or at least compatible — ethical and political commitments? By seeking answers to these questions and revealing religious pluralism as both a source of animosity and a potent force for peaceful engagement, this book offers a revealing look at the future of religion in democratic societies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195307290
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/07/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Thomas Banchoff is Associate Professor of Government and Director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. He is the author of The German Problem Transformed: Institutions, Politics, and Foreign Policy (1999) and co-editor of Legitimacy and the European Union: The Contested Polity (1999).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Thomas BanchoffPart I: Contours of the New Religious Pluralism2. Pluralism, Protestantization and the Voluntary Principle, Peter L. Berger3. Uneven Secularization in the U.S. and Western Europe, Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart4. Immigration and the New Religious Pluralism: An EU/U.S. Comparison, José Casanova5. The Transnational Struggle for Jewish Pluralism, Yossi Shain6. Politicians' Perceptions of the Muslim "Problem": The Dutch Example in European Context, Sam Cherribi7. America's Muslims: Issues of Identity, Religious Diversity, and Pluralism, John L. Esposito8. Religious Diversity in a "Christian Nation:" American Identity and American Democracy, Robert WuthnowPart II: Democratic Responses to the New Religious Pluralism9. Radical Evil in Liberal Democracies: The Neglect of the Political Emotions, Martha C. Nussbaum10. Islam and the Republic: the French Case, Daniéle Hervieu-Léger11. Pluralism, Tolerance, and Democracy: Theory and Practice in Europe, Gracie Davie12. American Religious Pluralism: Civic and Theological Discourse, Diana L. Eck13. The End of "Religious Pluralism" A Tribute to David Burrell, C.S.C., Stanley Hauerwas14. A Voice of One's Own: Public Faith in a Pluralistic World, Miroslav Volf15. Stem Cell Politics, Religious and Secular: The United States and France Compared, Thomas Banchoff