By the People, For the People

What vision for our political life does Christian faith affirm and how might its principles be applied to specific political issues? In speaking to these questions, this book defends a third alternative to the liberal and conservative ideals so influential in American public life, and, in the process, criticizes the so-called Christian Political Right for misunderstanding what Christian faith means for politics. Christians worship the God of all-embracing love who wills that all people flourish here in this world through a beloved community. Because this God is ever-present in the deepest experience of all people, the true vision for our common life can be discerned and applied through politics by way of full and free discussion and debate. Democracy is, then, the political form of the beloved community, and justice means empowering all to achieve in ways that enhance human mutuality. This theological account is articulated in relation to diverse contemporary issues: abortion, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, campaign finance reform, economic inequality, and our nation's responsibilities within the wider world. The writings herein represent the author's engagement with Protestants for the Common Good, a Chicago-based organization that seeks to educate and mobilize Christians for democratic politics, and contains some of the official political statements of that organization.

""Running through this book is a critical and endangered notion of the 'common good.' Gamwell dares to propose that there is such a thing and that Christian faith 'has a vision for the human community at odds with alternate visions in the culture.' It is a vision of inclusivity that is contrary to the ideological divide that polarizes everything and erupts in culture wars. It is a vision that rests not on what divides us but the possibility of common ground on which we might actually stand together.""
--from the Foreword by John M. Buchanan
Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois


Franklin I. Gamwell is Shailer Mathews Distinguished Service Professor of Religious Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and Theology at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. His is the author of The Divine Good, The Meaning of Religious Freedom, Democracy on Purpose, and Politics as a Christian Vocation.