Christian Faith and Modern Democracy

Robert P. Kraynak

Description

Do Christianity and modern liberal democracy share a common moral vision, or are they opposed and even hostile to each other? In Christian Faith and Modern Democracy, Robert Kraynak challenges the commonly accepted view that Christianity is inherently compatible with modern democratic society. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Kraynak argues that there is no necessary connection between Christianity and any form of government and that, in many important respects, Christianity is weakened by its close alliance with contemporary versions of democracy and human rights.

Christian Faith and Modern Democracy was written, in part, to convince secular intellectuals that modern democracy needs God. But it was also written in response to the new consensus about politics that has emerged among Christian believers. Almost all churches and theologians now think that the form of government most compatible with Christianity is democracy and that the historic opposition of the Christian tradition to democracy and to various forms of liberalism was a mistake. What caused Christians to change their view of political authority and to embrace liberal democracy? Were they wise to change their view?

This provocative book attempts to answer these questions by reexamining the relationship between democracy and Christianity through the lens of St. Augustine’s distinction between the city of God and the earthly city, applied to the conditions of the modern age. Kraynak argues that St. Augustine’s teaching provides the basis for a Christian theory of constitutional government and permits a variety of legitimate forms of government, including constitutional democracy. Yet, unlike contemporary Christian doctrines, it does so without embracing the subversive premises of liberalism that have threatened to turn the Christian faith into little more than a mirror image of the modern world.

Sure to spark controversy among secular intellectuals and Christian believers alike, this insightful volume is an outstanding work of political philosophy with a firm foundation in theology.

Sujets

• Political Ideologies
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Philosophie et théologie
• San Agustín (Florida)
• Theology
• Ethics
• Augustine of Hippo
• Religion
• Democracy
• Saint Augustine

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 12 octobre 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268024109
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Christian Faith and Modern Democracy

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Our late colleague Richard S. Hartigan founded the Frank M. Covey, Jr., Lectures in Political Analysis to provide a continuing forum for the reanimation of political philosophy. The lectures are not narrowly constrained by a single topic nor do they favor a particular perspec- tive. Their sole aim is to foster serious theoretical inquiry, with the ex- pectation that this effort will contribute in essential ways to both human knowledge and political justice.

Christian Fa i t h and Modern De m o c r a c y

God and Politics in the Fallen World F R obert P. Kraynak F

ì å á î É ê ë á í ó ç Ñ å ç í ê É Ç ~ ã É é ê É ë ë Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright ©OMMNby University ofNotre Dame Notre Dame, IndianaQSRRS All Rights Reserved www.undpress.nd.edu

Reprinted inOMNO

Publishedin the United States ofAmerica

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kraynak, Robert P.,NVQV– Christian faith and modern democracy : God and politics in the fallen world / Robert P. Kraynak. p. cm.—(Frank M. Covey, Jr. Loyola lectures in political analysis) Includes bibliographical references and index. áëÄå MJOSUJMOOSRJU(cloth : alk. paper)—áëÄå NP:VTUJMJOSUJMOOSSJO (pbk. : alk. paper)—áëÄå NM:MJOSUJMOOSSJSalk. paper)(pbk. : N. Democracy—Religious aspects—Christianity.O. Christianity and politics. I. Title. II. Series. ÄêNNRKéT âSS OMMN OSNKTÔdcON OMMNMMNOVO

Dedicated to my parents,

George, Jr. & Sophia Kraynak

F Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

xi

Introduction Challenging the New Consensus in Christian Politics N

chapter one Why Modern Liberal Democracy Needs God V

chapter two The Illiberal and Undemocratic Christian Tradition QR

chapter three The Opening of Christianity to Democracy and Human Rights NMT

chapter four Rethinking Christian Politics: The Two Cities in the Modern Age NSR

viii

—

Contents

chapter five The Earthly City: Constitutional Government under God OMP

Conclusion The Spiritual Significance of the Modern Democratic Age OSV

NotesOTR Select Bibliography IndexPMV

OVT

“In relation to the true ends of human beings here on earth . . . the state structure is of secondary significance.”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn,From Under the Rubble(NVTQ)