Can Religion Save Democracy?: How More Faith--Not Less--Can Heal Our Public Life

Summary

"Keep religion and politics separate!" For decades, scholars assumed that less religion would lead to a more peaceful and unified form of politics. And yet, as religious identity recedes from American public life, the opposite appears to be the case. Our post-religious politics are growing more polarized, anxious, and unstable each day. Could a return to ancient religious wisdom and community be the key to healing what secular politics can't fix?

In Can Religion Save Democracy? two friends and colleagues—a Christian theologian and a Muslim political scientist—make a bold case: If American democracy is going to survive, it will require more religion, not less. Drawing on wisdom from their respective religious traditions, they explore

• why secularism has only deepened our divides,
• what ancient insights from Christianity and Islam can strengthen our common life,
• how spiritual practices contribute something critical and irreplaceable to democracy, and
• how citizens can navigate a new world of deep polarization and mistrust.

This is not a call for theocracy or religious authoritarianism. It's a hopeful, clear-eyed vision showing how religious faith offers vital tools to renew the soul of democracy in a divided nation.