Democratic politics seems to inspire religious conflict - politicians consistently use religious differences for political gain, while religious nationalism and nationalistic reactions to religious diversity are on the rise in much of the world. And yet predominant theoretical accounts of liberal democracy provide citizens precious little applicable guidance in making judgments about religion's proper role in their political societies. Chains of Persuasion provides a new moral framework to guide citizens' evaluations of religious politics. Rejecting claims that religion must be relegated to the private sphere or that all attempts to evaluate its political roles are oppressive, Benjamin Hertzberg argues that democratic ideals are robust enough to assess the full range of ways religion influences democratic political life. Hertzberg's analysis draws on critical theories of religion, philosophical debates about public reason, deliberative and instrumental justifications of democracy, and democratic virtue theory. He argues that citizens must recognize that democracy is a way-of-life, with crucial implications for civic society beyond formal political institutions, in order to attend to the ways in which religion can both enhance and undermine democracy. He applies this framework by criticizing American public discussions of two prominent religious minorities: Mormons and Muslims. If citizens are to make judgments consistent with democratic norms, they must pay more attention to the nature of religions' authority claims instead of merely evaluating the values religions proclaim.

About the Author
Benjamin R. Hertzberg researches and teaches in the fields of political theory and philosophy and religion and politics. Previously, Hertzberg was Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy at Harvard University.

Reviews
Chains of Persuasion is primarily a work of political theory. It should be of interest to serious students of political philosophy and theory. * Mark E. D. Miller, Journal of Mormon History *
a thoughtful and very interesting intervention into the discussion of the appropriate relation between religion and liberal democracy. The book is marked by a number of fruitful conceptual innovations and interesting discussion of numerous illustrative examples that serve to flesh out the meaning of the concepts. Perhaps most importantly, it is marked by an even-handed and even-tempered discussion of religion and politics by an author who is knowledgeable about contemporary political theory, social science, and the practice of religion. * Patrick Neal, Journal of Law and Religion *
In this ground-breaking book on the vexed topic of politics and religion, Hertzberg ingeniously revitalizes the specifically democratic impulse of liberal politics. He does so by re-describing both democracy and religion as ways of life between which paths of engagement and collective practices of persuasion can be built. An important book for our troubled, excessively polarized times. * CA (c)cile Laborde, University of Oxford *
As the world grows ever more tightly connected, religious difference seems not to be going away; what should we do about that? Increasingly one hears suspicions regarding whether broadly liberal democratic regimes can successfully manage such difference. Hertzberg's work substantially helps us see why liberal democratic regimes may have more promise than the critics suspect. This book is a landmark in what we can now begin to call, using Hertzberg's terms, 'post-secular liberal political theory.' * Charles Mathewes, The University of Virginia *
Avoiding public discussion of politics and religion might make for good etiquette, but Hertzberg shows why it makes for bad citizenship. Democratic life requires more than relegating religion to the purely private. Chains of Persuasion provides a blueprint for (and an example of) how we can do better: a fresh, sophisticated, and wise contribution to democratic theory and public discourse itself. * Michael A. Neblo, Director of the Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA), The Ohio State University *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190883041
Author Benjamin R. Hertzberg
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 544g
Dimensions(mm) 160mm * 236mm * 23mm