by Mark Lewis Taylor

A book notice from Fortress Press
[12-8-05]

"Mark Lewis Taylor is the most prophetic theologian, political activist and cultural critic of his generation. There is simply no one on the scene like him. Don't miss this book!" -- Cornel West, University Professor of Religion, Princeton University

Where The Christian Right Goes Wrong

MINNEAPOLIS (December 7, 2005)- Many in the United States find the political ascendancy of right-wing Christianity alarming and disturbing. In his new book, Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right, Princeton theologian Mark Lewis Taylor provides an astute analysis of how after 9/11, Christian nationalists have forged an imperial America that subverts what most U.S. citizens and most Christians hold dear about their democratic life. Even as he exposes the dangers of the Christian right, Taylor also retrieves and highlights an authentic democratic spirit that U.S. citizens can nurture and develop in public life.

The real gift of Taylor's book is his argument that this militant Christian faith must be viewed against a backdrop of the American political romanticism and corporatist liberalism of U.S. past and present. Taylor uses the best of cultural and historical studies, while deftly drawing lessons for American readers from theologian Paul Tillich's analysis of power and religion during the rise of fascism and nationalism in Germany of the 1930s.

The result is an innovative framework for interpreting how Christian nationalists, Pentagon war planners and corporate institutions today are forging alliances in the U.S. that have dramatic and destructive global impact. Moving beyond lament, Taylor also leaves readers with a new romance of revolutionary traditions and a new more radical liberalism, revitalizing American visions of spirit that are both prophetic and public for U.S. residents today.

"Mark Lewis Taylor's critique of American imperialism is searing, and his vision of radical liberalism is creative, insightful, and inspiring. Essential reading for all committed to the revolutionary spirit of democratic governance and ongoing emancipation."

-Sharon D. Welch, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, and author of After Empire: The Art and Ethos of Enduring Peace

Mark Lewis Taylor is the Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is author of such important works as Remembering Esperanza: A Cultural-Political Theology for North American Praxis (Orbis, 1990) and The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America (Fortress Press, 2001).

A Witherspoon note:  

Dr. Taylor will the the primary speaker at the Semper Reformanda/Witherspoon Pre-General Assembly Conversation, on the theme of American Empire.  It will be held on Wednesday, June 14, from 1 to 4 pm, in Birmingham.  Watch for details!

Dr Taylor was one of the leaders of the Witherspoon/Peace Fellowship seminar at Ghost Ranch in the summer of 2005.  Witherspoon board member Jake Young reported on the seminar, and especially on Taylor's presentations, in Network News, Summer 2005, pages 9-10.  You can read it in PDF format:  just click here, and scroll down to page 9.

Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right:  Post-9/11 Powers and American Empire

By Mark Lewis Taylor

ISBN: 0-8006-3776-3 Format: Paper, 208 pp Price: $16.00
ISBN: 0-8006-3783-6 Format: Hardcover, 208 pp Price: $26.00

Publisher: Fortress Press

To order Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right please call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at  www.fortresspress.com. For review copies, or to discuss interviews with the author or speaking engagements contact Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.