Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy

This hefty, ambitious work from Bretherton (Resurrecting Democracy), a theologian and ethicist at the Duke Divinity School, considers a range of Christian approaches to political engagement across the Americas, Africa, and Europe. He argues that Christians are called to participate in political struggles in response to injustice, in order to coexist with neighbors (local and global), and to grapple with questions of power: “A common life with and for others (including nonhuman life) is a prerequisite for human flourishing.” Further, he makes the case specifically for democratic forms of political negotiation and power distribution being critical for ethical Christian practice. Structured for use in the classroom, the book begins with a discussion of political theology before delving into how five different Christian movements—humanitarianism, black power, Pentecostalism, Catholic social teaching, and Anglicanism—have approached political engagement. Bretherton then examines challenges to coexistence and addresses how each of the five groups approached problems of class disparity and the challenge of living in a Christian community that engages (and even embraces) non-Christians. With suggested further readings and a rich bibliography, this is an effective scholarly overview of Christian political theology. (May)