These essays propose "a new and richly detailed engagement between Judaism and the political" ( Jewish Book World ).Judaism, Liberalism, and Political Theology provides the first broad encounter between modern Jewish thought and recent developments in political theology, arguing in opposition to impetuous associations of Judaism and liberalism and charges that Judaism cannot engender a universal political order. Th...

A penetrating account of the religious critics of American liberalism, pluralism, and democracy—from the Revolution until today“A chilling consideration of persistent mutations of American thought still threatening our pluralist democracy.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)The conversation about the proper role of religion in American public life often revolves around what kind of polity the Founders of the United States envisioned. ...

The conversation about the proper role of religion in American public life often revolves around what kind of polity the Founders of the United States envisioned. Advocates of a "Christian America" claim that the Framers intended a nation whose political values and institutions were shaped by Christianity; secularists argue that they designed an enlightened republic where church and state were kept separate. Both sides appeal to the Founding to justify their beliefs about the kind of natio...

An authoritative history of the vital role of secularist thinkers and activists in the United States, from a writer of "fierce intelligence and nimble, unfettered imagination" ( The New York Times)At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock o...

From a profoundly influential social theorist comes a posthumously published analysis of the deepest level of crisis in our culture.“A compelling diagnosis of our condition.” —The Wall Street JournalAccording to Rieff, the contemporary notion of charisma—the personal magnetism of political leaders or movie stars—is a tragic misunderstanding of a profoundly important concept. Charisma originally meant religious grace and authority t...

Judith Butler follows Edward Said's late suggestion that through a consideration of Palestinian dispossession in relation to Jewish diasporic traditions a new ethos can be forged for a one-state solution. Butler engages Jewish philosophical positions to articulate a critique of political Zionism and its practices of illegitimate state violence, nationalism, and state-sponsored racism. At the same time, she moves beyond communitarian frameworks, including Jewish ones, that fail to arrive at...

From one of the nation's preeminent experts on economic policy, a major reassessment of the foundations of modern economic thinking that explores the profound influence of an until-now unrecognized force—religion."Friedman has given us an original and brilliant new perspective on the terrifying divisions of our own times. No book could be more important.” —George A. Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in EconomicsCritics of contemporary economics compl...

"A comprehensive, graceful narrative that truly represents the pluralism, momentum, and vitality of American religious life." —Amanda Porterfield, Florida State University, author of Conceived in DoubtIn this landmark work, award-winning Princeton historian Leigh Schmidt teams up with Edwin Gaustad—a scholar "in the front rank of American religious historians" ( The New York Times)—to produce a fully revised, updated, and expanded version of a mode...

Is Judaism a religion, a culture, a nationality--or a mixture of all of these? In How Judaism Became a Religion, Leora Batnitzky boldly argues that this question more than any other has driven modern Jewish thought since the eighteenth century. This wide-ranging and lucid introduction tells the story of how Judaism came to be defined as a religion in the modern period--and why Jewish thinkers have fought as well as championed this idea.Ever since the Enlightenment, Jewish ...

A Timely Exploration of the Profound Conflict Between Religion and Politics in AmericaEven before George W. Bush gained reelection by wooing religiously devout "values voters," it was clear that the relationship between church and state in the United States had reached a crisis point. In Divided by God, Noah Feldman shows that this crisis is as old as the nation itself—and offers a compelling look at how it might be resolved.In today's religiously ...

An "engagingly personal" exploration of Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, and the relationship between philosophy and religion ( Times Literary Supplement).In this book, distinguished philosopher and practicing Jew Hilary Putnam questions the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the twentieth century—Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas—to help him reconcile the philosophical and religious sides of his life. An additional presence in the ...

In one of the great triumphs of the colonial and Revolutionary periods, the founders of the future United States overcame religious intolerance in favor of a constitutional order dedicated to fair treatment for people's deeply held conscientious beliefs. It granted equal liberty of conscience to all and took a firm stand against religious establishment. This respect for religious difference, acclaimed scholar Martha Nussbaum writes, formed our democracy. Yet today there are signs that this...