Political Theology

Marc LiVecche, Derryck Green, and Keith Pavlischek continue their conversation on race, the church, and politics.

I want to illuminate this conspiratorial approach, which I term “Christian Virtual Reality Politics,” by contrasting it with a more familiar approach, which I call “Christian Religious Politics.”

Peter Paul Ruben’s extraordinary “Raising of the Cross” helps reflect on Divine love, human flourishing, and the weight of glory.

The Bible in American Law and Politics: A Reference Guide, by John R. Vile, is a welcomed resource for surveying and exploring the Bible’s contributions to American political and legal cultures.

The Holy Week Reader: Palm Sunday witnessed the rise of two cities in the world of humanity. Christians are citizens of both. Attendant responsibilities follow.

While I am in large agreement with Shadi Hamid’s essay, I find myself a bit underwhelmed for a few reasons.

Western media rightly praised Pope Francis’ historic trip to Iraq for opening new doors in Christian-Muslim relations. But they misunderstood Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani’s views on religion and politics.

It is not our task, fellow churchmen, to offer programs for the ordering of human life today. It is our function to present to those concerned with the secular order those theological presuppositions which are the indispensable basis of national and international health.

What if religion wasn’t waning after all? What if, instead, the language and categories of religion—indeed, even religious fervor—simply migrated to a different sphere of American life? In American Awakening, Joshua Mitchell argues that identity politics is ultimately a relocation of religion to the realm of politics.