Sunday, April 5, 2009
1. Progressive & Religious 50% off in April. Rowman & Littlefield has made my book available at the best price so far ($12.48 for hardcover, expires 4/27). To buy the book at this sale price, click here, and enter promotion code "4S9PROG50" at checkout.Feel free to pass this along to friends and colleagues.
2. We've had a successful launch of the book and book tour. I've been the recipient of the hospitality of several universities and seminaries (Emory University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological School, MIT, Oregon State University, Lewis and Clark College), academic conferences (American Academy of Religion, Christian Scholars Conference), and local congregations (Oseh Shalom in MD, Oakhurst Baptist Church in GA, and the Interfaith Families Project in MD). I've also had the opportunity to do some engaging media talks, ranging from being Rev. Welton Gaddy's guest on Air America to an appearance on Fox & Friends (!). I'm continuing to book engagements for the second half of the year to tell the story of the emerging progressive religious movement.
3. We also continue to publish compelling "Progressive Religious Voices podcasts series with progressive religious leaders. You can find them on iTunes or at www.progressiveandreligious.org/podcasts. They're free--come check them out.
Labels: progressive and religious, progressive politics, progressive religion
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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Newsweek's September 15th cover read "Palin-tol-ogy," the "advanced study of Sarah Palin and how she sees the world." Since her surprise find as the GOP vice-presidential nominee, the media has been in a tizzy trying to get the definitive story about just who Sarah Palin is. Perhaps the primary reason this newly unearthed conservative evangelical has received so much attention is that she has enlivened what was assumed to be an ossifying Christian Right. For some political progressives--who legitimately note the divisive and uncivil turn that religion has taken over the last few decades--Palin has confirmed an old suspicion: that religion is primarily "a problem" for American democracy.
These "religion as problem" progressives tend to have three prominent worries:
- that religious people ultimately prefer a theocracy of their own religion to democratic pluralism;
- that religion breeds incivility and intolerance; and
- that religious passion is dangerously irrational and makes people of faith unreliable partners.
But if progressives allow these familiar worries to cloud their vision this election season, they will be misreading the changing religious landscape, where there is an emerging progressive religious movement that encompasses numerous faithful allies on progressive issues.
You can read the rest of the article, making the case that these worries of political progressives are misguided, here.
Labels: Christian right, Palin, progressive politics, progressive religious voices, religious right
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Pew Forum on Religion held a recent discussion entitled "Religion and Progressive Politics in 2008" that featured Rev. Jennifer Butler, Director of Faith in Public Life; Chris Korzen, Director of Catholics United for the Common Good; and Dr. Laura Olson, Professor of Political Science at Clemson University. It's an exceptional discussion of the current landscape.
Here's a taste of the discussion from Jennifer Butler:
Some of these [progressive religious] organizations...had been more content, I think, to be a quieter voice in their society. And I sort of laughed when I saw [Robert Wuthnow's book entitled] The Quiet Hand of God. I think it’s a very good book, and it does describe what was happening. I think what we may see coming out in the next year or two is the louder hand of God – (laughter) – because there is a rejection of this idea that [progressive] religion should remain more in the private sphere. People want to have a louder voice in their communities; and it’s a voice that respects pluralism. It may come from a particular place; it may come from a particular religion. But it’s always very respectful of other faiths, and it’s also respectful of the separation of church and state.You can also read more about the growing progressive religious movement--which drew on interviews with leaders such as these--in my forthcoming book, Progressive & Religious: How Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist Leaders are Moving Beyond the Culture Wars and Transforming American Public Life. The book is available for pre-order from Amazon.com and will be in bookstores nationwide in August 2008.
Labels: progressive politics, progressive religion, progressive religious movement
