Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Edwards, M

Titel

The Right of the Protestant Left: God's Totalitarianism

Ist Teil von

• The Right of the Protestant Left, 2012

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• 01 02 The Right of the Protestant Left explores the centrality of religious realignment for the development of American and global politics during the past century. It tells the story of the "Christian Realists" who led the American Protestant left following World War I. As a public theological community with transnational ties, the Realists attacked modern civilization, preached participatory democratic relations, and called for a catholic world Protestantism. In religion as well as in politics, the Realists and their associates at home and abroad proved to be the authentic religious right of their era. Together, they highlighted the conservatiism within twentieth-century American liberalism. 19 02 1. PROVOCATIVE THESIS: Edwards argues that the nominally liberal Protestant tradition in the US was a forebear of modern far right Christianity. 2. INTERNATIONAL: Most of the literature on the subject tends to be America-centric. This study stands out by considering wider global developments and their significant effect on what was happening in the US. 3. CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE: Edwards offers a partial genealogy of today's Religious Right. 4. METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED: The author demonstrates an impressive command of the individuals under scrutiny owing to his tremendous in-depth research of their evolving views. 31 02 A revealing study of totalitarian and conservative strains within post-war American liberal Protestantism 13 02 Mark Thomas Edwards is an assistant professor of American History at Spring Arbor University. 08 02 "Mark Thomas Edwards's fascinating book examines the evolution of the old Protestant Left across the twentieth century as religious liberals worked to build a world church that could keep competing totalitarian regimes in check. The Right of the Protestant Left is a smart and valuable study that brings together work on religion, politics, foreign policy, and globalization. Edwards has made an important and lasting contribution to many fields." - Journal of American History "Recommended." - CHOICE "Edwards has provided us with a much-needed exploration of not only Realist thought, but also of Realist intent, and through his analysis has encouraged us to reconsider our tendency as scholars to rest easy upon the traditional dichotomies of left/right or liberal/conservative. Furthermore, his interpretation and recovery of the global ambition of the Realist project should give historians pause as we begin to revisit and revise the standard narratives of liberal Protestant establishment and disestablishment." - Religion in American History "Historians will appreciate the narrative of Christian Realism that is (rightly) not centered on Reinhold Niebuhr. Edwards also makes key contributions to our understanding of the conservative impulses of American Protestantism, as it undergirded a politics that supported economic rights and Third World liberation. But the real contribution of The Right of the Protestant Left is the questions it raises about our narratives of the liberal/conservative divide and about the continuing significance of religion to our understanding of the twentieth century. This book is a welcome addition to our historiography on these subjects and will aid in clarifying key questions." - Society for U.S. Intellectual History "Mark Thomas Edwards reminds us of something too many historians and critics have forgotten about - the centrality in American life of the old Protestant Left. Readers will find here an important reexamination of a once powerful current of ideas and religious orientation. Edwards has done a fine job of reviving interest in such an important constellation of ideas." - Kevin Mattson, Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History, Ohio University 02 02 While serving as an introduction to ecumenical liberal Protestantism and the social gospel over the course of the twentieth-century this book also highlights certain totalitarian as well as more fundamental conservative tendencies within those movements. 04 02 'Growing Christendom': The Inheritance of Christian Realism, 1890-1932 'Seasoned Idealism': The Faith of Christian Realism, 1919-1933 'Evangelical Catholicism': Fixing Christian Realism in America, 1933-1939 A 'Christian Internationale': Christian Realism on the Frontlines of World Protestantism, 1928-1941 'Bringing Our World Together': The Dominion of Christian Realism, 1941-1945 'The World Is a Conflict': The Reverse Course of Christian Realism, 1945-1952 'Responsible Freedom': The Imagination of Christian Realism, 1948-1961 'The Humane Scale': The Situation of Christian Realism, 1950-1970 'The New Reformation': The Legacy of Christian Realism, 1962-1980 Epilogue: 'Good-by to Gothic?': The Relevance of Christian Realism