Joining Hands: Politics And Religion Together For Social Change
Gottlieb, a humanities professor, concedes his own leftist politics and religious perspective as he takes to task liberals and conservatives, the religious and the secular, and social thinkers and policymakers in this absorbing look at the merger of religion and politics in tackling social issues. He notes the widespread view in developed nations that political life should be secular and the historic antagonism between religion and politics. But Gottlieb sees "profound shifts in economics, political culture, technology and political life" that are creating "the prospect of religion and politics remaking the world together." Religious leaders cannot actualize their own moral teachings without some political understanding of the world, he asserts. Gottlieb considers the philosophies and approaches of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Reinhold Niebuhr, the Dalai Lama, Oscar Romero, and other theologians, social activists, and political commentators in confronting raging social and moral issues. He explores the values religion and progressive politics bring to their respective spheres and their potential to offer a common vision in addressing a range of issues, including human rights, the environment, globalization, and world poverty.Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved