The Sleeping Giant Has Awoken: The New Politics of Religion in the United States

by Jeffrey W. Robbins, Neal Magee

Overview

Introduction by John Caputo and Afterword by Slavoj Zizek



The triumph of American political conservatism in the last two decades has been paralleled by the ascendance of Christian evangelicalism. More importantly, the political Campaigns of 2000 and 2004 marked a convergence between these two political entities with an effectiveness never before seen in national elections. On the one side, conservatives have successfully set the terms of debate around so-called "family values" and the status of religion in the public sphere. On the other side, evangelicals have mobilized in a new self-awareness of their formidable political power and now demand representation at all levels of government.


Upon what fundamental ideas does this convergence rest? What potential dangers does it present for the concepts of "religion," "politics" and "America"? How secure is this alliance, and what does each side sacrifice in order to sustain it? Must all religion in America now become similarly engaged in the political sphere?




This volume is a collection of articles by a group of young scholars addressing the nexus between political conservatism, evangelical Christianity, and American consumerist culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826429698
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/11/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey W. Robbins is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy (August 2002 to present) and Director of the College Colloquium (January 2006 to present) Lebanon Valley College, Pennsylvania. John D. Caputo is the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Humanities at Syracuse University Neal Magee is Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Le Moyne College Slavoj i ek is one of the world's leading contemporary cultural critics and a hugely prolific author. He is Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and Visiting Professor at the New School for Social Research, New York, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction "A Taste for Theory" - John D. Caputo1. "Radical Religion and American Democracy" - Jeffrey W. Robbins2. "Prophetic Evangelicalism: Towards a Politics of Hope" - Peter Goodwin Heltzel3. "A Christian Politics of Vulnerability" - Anna Mercedes4. "Truthiness, Family Values and Conservative Consumerism" - Adam S. Miller5. ""The Cultural Logic of Evangelical Christianity" - Christopher Haley and Creston Davis6. "Jeb Stuart's Revenge: The Civil War, the Religious Right, and American Fascism" - Clayton Crockett7. "In What Sense is the United States a Theocracy?" - Ben Stahlberg8. "Christianity, Capitalism, and the Battle for the Soul of the Republic" - Andrew Saldino9. "Sovereignty and State-Form" - Rocco Gangle10. "The Politics of Immanence" - J. Heath Atchley11. "'An Army of One?' Subject, Signifier, and the Symbolic" - Melissa Conroy12. "Freedom Ain't Free: Politics and Religion at the Heart of a Muddled Concept" - Mary-Jane Rubenstein13. "Incongruent Beliefs and the Vitality of Fantasy: The New Politics of Religion" - Neal MageePostface "Better Dead than Red - Again!" - Slavoj Žižek

Editorial Reviews

"[Magee's] insights are powerful and important in the consideration of the marriage of religion and politics in America today...his writing is powerful due to the imagery it invokes in each word, like he painfully exorcises every syllable from some demonic labyrinth hidden deep in the bowels of the planet. Those bowels are always political in his eyes, when he concludes that, quoting Robert Bork, "There is an eager and growing market for depravity, and profitable industries [are] devoted to supplying it." America's Sleeping Giant is feeding from this depravity, and this collection of essays does an exceptional job of shining a light on some of the more hidden aspects in our culture today." - Popmatters.com

"In sum, editors Robbins and Magee have turned both to trusted senior scholars and younger voices to produce a thought-provoking, rich, and critically responsive exploration of religion in American politics from diverse and sophisticated points of view. The integration of theory, history, and political analysis on a wide range of issues across an equally wide range of perspectives make this volume a valuable addition to the debate on religion's function and place in American life." - Aaron Klink, The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory, Fall 2008

"What are the dangers of religion missing with politics in America? The Sleeping Giant Has Awoken: The New Politics of Religion in the United States is a collection of thoughts on the subject, running from the 2004 presidential race to 2008. The ideas found within offer much knowledge, ideas, and points out many ideas that one may have not have thought of before on the subject. An ideal anthology of essays to expand one's mind, The Sleeping Giant Has Awoeken is a must for anyone who would truly understand religion's place in politics." -The Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

Robbins (religion & philosophy, Lebanon Valley Coll.; Between Faith and Thought) and Magee (philosophy, Le Moyne Coll.) present a philosophical conversation among academics addressing a multiplicity of historic trends in our philosophy and religion. This collection provides extensive background for an esoteric critique of the current politics of religion in the United States. A premise in one essay is that all of our knowledge has gaps and that "religion is usually quite at home with gaps and contradictions." The conclusion is that we have been misled and misinformed by the current politics of the religious right, and, as Marx classically indicates, "if people only understood what they were doing and what they were a part of they would throw it off and demand otherwise." The essays-e.g., "The Politics of Immanence" and "Jeb Stuart's Revenge: The Civil War, the Religious Right, and American Fascism"-denounce free-enterprise capitalism, big business, consumerism, and Christian beliefs that have restrictive applications such as opposition to same-sex unions and abortion. Missing is a practical description of a viable alternative that would correct the problems addressed. Recommended for academic libraries.
—George Westerlund

Library Journal