Christian Faith and Modern Democracy: God and Politics in the Fallen World(Frank M. Covey, Jr., Loyola Lectures in Political Analysis)

Do Christianity and modern liberal democracy share a common moral vision, or are they opposed and even hostile to each other? In Christian Faith and Modern Democracy, Robert Kraynak challenges the commonly accepted view that Christianity is inherently compatible with modern democratic society. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Kraynak argues that there is no necessary connection between Christianity and any form of government and that, in many important respects, Christianity is weakened by its close alliance with contemporary versions of democracy and human rights. Christian Faith and Modern Democracy was written, in part, to convince secular intellectuals that modern democracy needs God. But it was also written in response to the new consensus about politics that has emerged among Christian believers. Almost all churches and theologians now think that the form of government most compatible with Christianity is democracy and that the historic opposition of the Christian tradition to democracy and to various forms of liberalism was a mistake. What caused Christians to change their view of political authority and to embrace liberal democracy? Were they wise to change their view? This provocative book attempts to answer these questions by reexamining the relationship between democracy and Christianity through the lens of St. Augustine's distinction between the city of God and the earthly city, applied to the conditions of the modern age. Kraynak argues that St. Augustine's teaching provides the basis for a Christian theory of constitutional government and permits a variety of legitimate forms of government, including constitutional democracy. Yet, unlike contemporary Christian doctrines, it does so without embracing the subversive premises of liberalism that have threatened to turn the Christian faith into little more than a mirror image of the modern world. Sure to spark controversy among secular intellectuals and Christian believers alike, this insightful volume is an outstanding work of political philosophy with a firm foundation in theology.

About the Author :
Robert P. Kraynak is professor of political science and director of the Center for Free Western Civilization at Colgate University. He is the co-editor of In Defense of Human Dignity, also published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

Review :
"This is a masterful work and, at the very least, a necessary corrective to a contemporary Christian tendency to blindly endorse anything that can be labeled democratic. This book should be required reading for students (let alone teachers) of politics and is heartily recommended for the educated reading public." —Markets & Morality ". . . unified and tightly organized. A stimulating book rethinking liberal democracy and Christian political theology." —American Political Science Review "Kraynak, a professor of political science at Colgate University, has written a clear, concise summary of this very complicated issue. It will enlighten students and challenge the presuppositions of scholars, as well as making suggestions about a possible solution. Together with the writing of Ernest Fortin, Kraynak's writings are among the soundest guides to the pitfalls that Christianity and especially Catholicism face in attempting to accommodate modern natural rights theory within their teachings." —History: Reviews of New Books "Robert Kraynak has produced one of the most significant political books for American Catholics since John Courtney Murray's We Hold These Truths. Kraynak deserves mention along with Murray, Jacques Maritain, and Reinhold Niebuhr as a thoughtful commentator on the most profound of issues. His work will shake any reader, secular or faithful, to rethink the relationship between one's citizenship and one's faith." —Religion & Liberty "For those anxious to understand more about the thorny topic of religion and government in the new century, this book will furnish provocative material about an endlessly important issue." —America "In his important and controversial new book, Kraynak argues that democracy is the result of several historical and political developments that were not in themselves the inevitable result of either Providence or the secular course of history." —Commonweal "It is the great virtue of Robert P. Kraynak's Christian Faith and Modern Democracy to question the assumptions of both sides in the culture war. Kraynak strongly supports those who advocate a greater role for the church in American public life. He powerfully defends the view that liberalism is incapable of vindicating the human dignity on which liberal rights are based." —First Things "[T]his learned and provocative book is an excellent introduction to the problem of Christianity and democracy in our time, and to the enduring tension between religious faith and 'the logic of rights' in modern liberal societies." —The Public Interest "Kraynak brings a much-needed sense of prudence and political sobriety to Christian political discourse. … an impressive book. Christian Faith and Modern Democracy raises a series of tough questions about the relationship of Christianity and liberal democracy that no one who thinks seriously about these matters can afford to ignore. Kraynak's book promises to play an essential role in this debate for the foreseeable future." —Modern Age "It is the great virtue of Robert P. Kraynak's Christian Faith and Modern Democracy to question the assumptions of both sides in the culture war. Kraynak strongly supports those who advocate a greater role for the church in American public life. He powerfully defends the view that liberalism is incapable of vindicating the human dignity on which liberal rights are based."