Religion, Theology, and American Public Life

Linell E. Cady is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Religous Studies at Arizona State University, Tempe.

"Cady explores with considerable skill what to my mind is a basic question; it concerns the status of religious thought in the contemporary world. The central issue is that religious thinking is inevitably particular, not only because done by individuals but because it rises from the experience of singular traditions that make very specific claims about their sources of revelation. What Cady does is to bring together insights from fields that seldom interact, as well as to provide very important analysis of what 'public' means. I would characterize this book as vigorous and strong in its intellectual fiber." — John F. Wilson, Princeton University"This well-written treatment of a timely topic recounts the widespread rejection of the abstract rationalism of the Enlightenment in contemporary intellectual life, but then it moves through current postmodern, communitarian thought toward a genuine public discourse. I could not put it down." — Max L. Stackhouse, Newton Theology School

• Preface 1. Religion, Theory, and the Public Realm 2. Theology and Public Argumentation 3. Toward the Reconfiguration of the Public Realm: The Cultivation of a Common Life 4. God and Public Life 5. Theology and Professional Boundaries 6. Connecting the Threads Notes Index