Congratulations to Luke Bretherton on winning the 2013Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing for Christianityand Contemporary Politics!Relations between religious and political spheres continue tostir passionate debates on both sides of the Atlantic. Through acombination of theological reflection and empirical case studies,Bretherton succeeds in offering timely and invaluable insights intothese crucial issues facing 21st centurysocieties.* Explores the relationship between Christianity and contemporarypolitics through case studies of faith-based organizations,Christian political activism and welfare provision in the West;these case studies assess initiatives including communityorganizing, fair trade, and the sanctuary movementOffers an insightful, informative account of how Christians canengage politically in a multi-faith, liberal democracy* Integrates debates in political theology withinter-disciplinary analysis of policy and practice regardingreligious social, political and economic engagement in the USA, UK,and continental Europe* Reveals how Christians can help prevent the subversion of thechurch - and even of politics itself - by legal,bureaucratic, and market mechanisms, rather than advocatingwithdrawal or assimilation* Engages with the intricacies of contemporary politics whilstintegrating systematic and historical theological reflection onpolitical and economic life

Preface.Acknowledgments.Introduction.The Terms and Conditions of Political Life.Religion and Postsecular Politics.Theological Politics and the Ecclesial-Turn.Summary of Aims and Methodology.1. Faith-Based Organizations and the Emerging Shape ofChurch-State Relations.Introduction."Working Together": The Shaping of Relations between the Stateand Religious Groups in a Multi-Faith Society.Social Cohesion, Social Capital, and the "Salvation" of CivilSociety.Liberalism and the Continuing Requirements of Public Reason.Theological Politics and the Question of What ConstitutesFaithful Witness.Ecclesiology and the Political Mission of the Church.Summary.2. Local: Augustine, Alinsky, and the Politics of the CommonGood.Introduction.The Alinsky Approach: The Work of Broad-Based CommunityOrganizing.Eschatology, Politics, and the Mutual Ground of theSaeculum.Christian Realism Redivivus?A Thomistic Democratic Politics?Reweaving Civil Society.Politics without Piety Is Pitiless; Piety without Politics IsPitiful.Summary.3. National: Christian Cosmopolitanism, Refugees, and thePolitics of Proximity.Introduction.Theological Politics and the Liberal Democratic Response toRefugees.Refugees as Bare Life.Bare Life and the Limits of Humanitarianism.Hallowing Bare Life: A Doxological Response.Hallowed Be Thy Name.Sanctuary: The Practice of Hallowing Bare Life.Summary.4. Global: Consumerism, Fair Trade, and the Politics ofOrdinary Time.Introduction.Defining Political Consumerism.Consumerism and the Formation of Desire.Political Consumerism as Apprenticeship in the Virtues.Political Consumerism as Neighbor Love.Fair Trade as Contradiction.Fair Trade, Globalization and the Emergence of PoliticalConsumerism.Ordinary Politics and the Peace of Babylon.Summary.Conclusion: Toward a Politics of Hospitality and a Theologyof Politics.Epilogue.Bibliography.Index.