The Religious Test: Why We Must Question the Beliefs of Our Leaders PDF Download
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Author: Damon Linker
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393067955
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253
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Book Description
A manifesto seeking to exhort both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere. The Constitution states that “no religious test” may keep a candidate from aspiring to political office. Yet, since John F. Kennedy used the phrase to deflect concerns about his Catholicism, the public has largely avoided probing candidates’ religious beliefs. Is it true, however, that a candidate’s religious convictions should be off-limits to public scrutiny? Damon Linker doesn’t think so, and in this book he outlines the various elements of religious belief—including radical atheism—that are simply incompatible with high office, and sometimes even active citizenship, in a democracy. In six forceful chapters he enlightens us to the complicated interrelations between churches and states, consistently applying a political litmus test to a range of theological views. Along the way, he clearly explains, among other topics, why the government in a religiously tolerant society must not promote a uniform, absolute code of ethics and behavior; why the conviction that America is worthy of divine attention is dangerous; and why the liberal position on the political deregulation of sex is our nation’s only hope for conciliation. In this provocative, hard-hitting manifesto, Linker exhorts both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere, and he offers a carefully charted road map for doing so.
Author: Damon Linker
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393067955
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253
Get Book Here
Book Description
A manifesto seeking to exhort both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere. The Constitution states that “no religious test” may keep a candidate from aspiring to political office. Yet, since John F. Kennedy used the phrase to deflect concerns about his Catholicism, the public has largely avoided probing candidates’ religious beliefs. Is it true, however, that a candidate’s religious convictions should be off-limits to public scrutiny? Damon Linker doesn’t think so, and in this book he outlines the various elements of religious belief—including radical atheism—that are simply incompatible with high office, and sometimes even active citizenship, in a democracy. In six forceful chapters he enlightens us to the complicated interrelations between churches and states, consistently applying a political litmus test to a range of theological views. Along the way, he clearly explains, among other topics, why the government in a religiously tolerant society must not promote a uniform, absolute code of ethics and behavior; why the conviction that America is worthy of divine attention is dangerous; and why the liberal position on the political deregulation of sex is our nation’s only hope for conciliation. In this provocative, hard-hitting manifesto, Linker exhorts both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere, and he offers a carefully charted road map for doing so.
Author: Damon Linker
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 9780393349696
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
A manifesto seeking to exhort both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere.
Author: Stephen Mansfield
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493403273
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 267
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Book Description
For most of American history, the conventional wisdom was that religion was too private a matter to ask a political candidate about. But in a political landscape in which we will see Muslims, atheists, Mormons, Buddhists, and Christians of all stripes running for high office, we cannot afford to avoid religious questions. It's within American voters' rights to know what their candidates believe about God and religion, because those beliefs shape policy and thus action. In both small and significant ways, a candidate's religious views (or lack thereof) define political leadership. And the time for skirting the question or giving vague answers is over. In this rousing call to action, Stephen Mansfield shows readers - what religion will mean in the 2016 presidential race - how the media, both left and right, get religion wrong - the reasons the faith of candidates such as JFK, Mitt Romney, and Barack Obama caused issues with both the electorate and even their own advisors - how to ask the right questions to get honest answers - what giving candidates a "religious pass" can cost the country - how religion in American politics impacts America's role in the world - and more Frustrated and confused voters across the country and on both sides of the aisle will find here a balanced and essential guidebook to actively and intelligently participating in America's political system.
Author: R. Ward Holder
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317026977
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
Drawing on the political theology of Reinhold Niebuhr, described by Barack Obama as 'one of my favourite philosophers', this book assesses the challenges facing the President during his first term. It evaluates his success in adhering to Niebuhr's path of 'Christian realism' when faced with the pragmatic demands of domestic and foreign affairs. In 2008 Candidate Obama used the ideas of 'Hope' and 'Change' to inspire voters and secure the presidency. Obama promised change not only regarding America's policies, but even more fundamentally in the nation's political culture. Holder and Josephson describe the foundations of President Obama's Christian faith and the extent to which it has shaped his approach to politics. Their book explores Obama's journey of faith in the context of a broadly Augustinian understanding of faith and politics, examines the tensions between Christian realism and pragmatic progressivism, explains why a Christian realist interpretation is essential to understanding Obama's presidency, and applies this model of understanding to considerations of foreign and domestic policy. By combining this theological and political analysis the book offers a special opportunity to reflect on the relationship between Christian faith and statesmanship, reflections that are missing from current popular discussions of the Obama presidency. Through consideration of Niebuhr's models of the prophet and the statesman, and the more popular alternative of the political evangelist, Holder and Josephson are better able to explain the president's successes and his failures, and to unveil the Augustinian limits of the political life.
Author: Luke B. Yarbrough
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108496601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 379
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Book Description
Reveals how early Muslims devised and elaborated normative views concerning non-Muslim state officials at moments of intense competition.
Author: Ruth Bancewicz
Publisher: Test of FAITH
ISBN: 1608998959
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 126
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Book Description
This visually stunning, award-winning, three part documentary uses interviews with ten top scientists and theologians to introduce some big questions and address the many challenging issues raised by the sciences. It shows that science is compatible with genuine faith in God. The Test of faith course comes with accompanying resources developed by the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion ideally tailored to unpack the issues raised in the documentary. The book tells the stories of the scientists featured in the video materials as they share their life, stories and reflections on science and faith. The study guide allows small groups to explore science-faith issues by choosing topics and discussing them at a level and pace that suits the group. The Leader's guide supplements the study guide with suggested responses to questions, critical background information and opportunities to go deeper while encouraging an open discussion of a range of views.
Author: Rosalind W. Picard
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262661157
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 308
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Book Description
According to Rosalind Picard, if we want computers to be genuinely intelligent and to interact naturally with us, we must give computers the ability to recognize, understand, even to have and express emotions. The latest scientific findings indicate that emotions play an essential role in decision making, perception, learning, and more—that is, they influence the very mechanisms of rational thinking. Not only too much, but too little emotion can impair decision making. According to Rosalind Picard, if we want computers to be genuinely intelligent and to interact naturally with us, we must give computers the ability to recognize, understand, even to have and express emotions. Part 1 of this book provides the intellectual framework for affective computing. It includes background on human emotions, requirements for emotionally intelligent computers, applications of affective computing, and moral and social questions raised by the technology. Part 2 discusses the design and construction of affective computers. Although this material is more technical than that in Part 1, the author has kept it less technical than typical scientific publications in order to make it accessible to newcomers. Topics in Part 2 include signal-based representations of emotions, human affect recognition as a pattern recognition and learning problem, recent and ongoing efforts to build models of emotion for synthesizing emotions in computers, and the new application area of affective wearable computers.
Author: Randall Balmer
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231540892
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 261
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Book Description
When Joseph Smith ran for president as a radical protest candidate in 1844, Mormons were a deeply distrusted group in American society, and their efforts to enter public life were met with derision. When Mitt Romney ran for president as a Republican in 2008 and 2012, the public had come to regard Mormons as consummate Americans: patriotic, family-oriented, and conservative. How did this shift occur? In this collection, prominent scholars of Mormonism, including Claudia L. Bushman, Richard Lyman Bushman, Jan Shipps, and Philip L. Barlow, follow the religion's quest for legitimacy in the United States and its intersection with American politics. From Brigham Young's skirmishes with the federal government over polygamy to the Mormon involvement in California's Proposition 8, contributors combine sociology, political science, race and gender studies, and popular culture to track Mormonism's rapid integration into American life. The book takes a broad view of the religion's history, considering its treatment of women and African Americans and its portrayal in popular culture and the media. With essays from both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, this anthology tells a big-picture story of a small sect that became a major player in American politics.
Author: Steven Michels
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 442
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Book Description
The case for democracy is an intrinsic part of our political culture. This non-partisan book provides the other side of the story via well-researched history and current events that illuminate the theory and practice of democracy. Are the politics of the United States to blame for its current unsteady footing in the 21st century? This book aims to answer this uncomfortable but relevant question by examining the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, addressing complex topics such as the history of liberalism, the relationship between democracy and capitalism, the nature of representation, and the difference between government and politics. Each of the book's chapters focuses on a recognized shortcoming of popular government, such as inefficiency, self-interestedness, and non-participation. Each section begins by focusing on current events and tracing issues back through history—through to the American founding, and in many instances, to antiquity. In the conclusion, the author proposes a series of thought-provoking fixes.
Author: Joseph I. Lieberman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451627319
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
Discusses the importance of observing the Jewish Sabbath as both a practical and spiritual exercise, and provides guidelines for properly incoporating the Sabbath into everyday life.
