Conservative Protestants are mentioned repeatedly in the ongoing conversation about social capital, individualism, and community in the United States. As John Wilson notes in his introduction, evangelicals are frequently discussed either as a threat to civil society or as apparent counterexamples to the prevailing view of American society's fragmentation.
The essays in this volume look at the role of evangelicals in American civic life. The prominent contributors examine evangelical Christians' beliefs and activities on topics ranging from bioethics to race relations and welfare reform to international human rights. Taken together, the essays show that, contrary to what critics have proclaimed, the social commitment of evangelicals extends considerably beyond family-related issues, and that their activity in the public sphere makes an essential contribution to the public good.
Clearly written and persuasively argued, A Public Faith: Evangelicals and Civic Engagement is a powerful correction to the misconceptions about evangelicals that abound in the current civil-society debate.
List of Contributors
Nigel M. de S. Cameron, David Orgon Coolidge, Michael Emerson, John C. Green, Allen D. Hertzke, Mark J. Rozell, Jeffrey Satinover, Kurt Schaefer, Amy L. Sherman, David Sikkink, Clyde Wilcox, W. Bradford Wilcox, Rhys H. Williams, R. Stephen Warner, and John Wilson.
About The Editor
Michael Cromartie is the vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its Evangelical Studies project. He is the editor of ten books including Caesar's Coin Revisited, Creation at Risk, Disciples and Democracy, No Longer Exiles, Peace Betrayed?, and A Preserving Grace.
