Church Politics

In a May 2019 countrywide referendum, Ireland voted overwhelmingly to make abortion legal; three years earlier, it had done the same with same-sex marriage. With help from prominent Irish and Irish American voices like historian and best-selling author Tim Pat Coogan and the New York Times' Maureen Dowd, A New Ireland tells the story of a modern revolution against all odds.

God has called you to be an agent of cultural change! America is experiencing a cultural revolution. Against the onslaught of conflicting political agendas, powerful media pressures, and radical ideologies, what should Christians think? How should we respond? In Counterculture, Pastor Duane Sheriff reveals how the "woke" movement has a form of godliness but denies the power of the cross. Instead of aligning with the dominant cultural trends, believers must rise up and forge a kingdom culture, countering critical race theory with "critical grace theory".

A Black woman who suffered the outrages of apartheid - including the murder of her father - shares her outlook on her struggles with humanity and forgiveness.

In Just Faith, progressive Christian activist and writer Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons explains how a strong religious left has accompanied every major progressive advance in our society, and he resurrects the long but forgotten history of progressive Christianity in the United States that can and must link arms with progressive Muslims and Jews to make the moral case for pluralism, human dignity, and the common good. Graves-Fitzsimmons provides a blueprint for this type of resurrection based on his advocacy work at the intersection of religion and American politics.

The 2016 election of Donald J. Trump exposed a deep divide in American politics and culture, one that pollsters and pundits didn't seem to realize was there. But Trump did, and he used it to his advantage in ways that surprised nearly everyone, even those who voted for him. Perhaps the biggest question on many people's minds is how, exactly, did a crass, unrepentant reality TV star and cutthroat business tycoon secure the majority of the religious conservative vote?

New York Times best-selling author Carl Anderson has gathered together many of his most thought-provoking speeches, articles, and essays that lay bare the facts of the state's unjustified restriction of religious beliefs. The power of his words makes it clear that if nothing is done now, there will continue to be more erosion of these special freedoms set forth by our Founding Fathers.

High on God gives the first robust and plausible explanation for why megachurches have conquered the churchgoing market of America. Without condescension or exaggeration, the authors show the genius of megachurches: the power of charisma, the design of facilities, the training of leaders, the emotional dynamics, and the strategies that bring people together and lead them to serve and help others.

Christians are often thought of as defending only their own religious interests in the public square. They are viewed as worrying exclusively about the erosion of their freedom to assemble and to follow their convictions, while not seeming as concerned about publicly defending the rights of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and atheists to do the same. Andrew T. Walker, an emerging Southern Baptist public theologian, argues for a robust Christian ethic of religious liberty that helps the church defend religious freedom for everyone in a pluralistic society.

Among the traditional tenets of the Christian faith is the belief that God chooses or elects people for salvation. For some Christians, such an affirmation is an indication of God's sovereign and perfect will. For others, such a notion is troubling for it seems to downplay the significance of human agency and choice. Throughout the church's history, Christians have sought to understand the meaning of relevant biblical texts and debated this theological conundrum.

The way most people think about religion and politics is only loosely linked to empirical reality, argues Ryan P. Burge in 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America. Instead, our thinking is based on anecdotes, a quick scan of news headlines, or worse, flat-out lies told by voices trying to push a religious or political agenda on a distracted public.

The Sunday collection in every Catholic church throughout the world is as familiar a part of the Mass as the homily and even Communion. There is no doubt that historically the Catholic Church has been one of the great engines of charity in history. But once a dollar is dropped in that basket, where does it go? How are weekly cash contributions that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars accounted for? Where does the money go when a diocese sells a church property for tens of millions of dollars?

After a dramatic election amid a raging pandemic, racial violence, economic collapse, and historic national divisions that have threatened our democracy, Joe Biden succeeds Donald Trump as the 46th president of the United States. For Catholics, this is a momentous occasion in US public life, as he is the second Catholic to be elected to the nation’s highest office, joining John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

News reports cover the tragic events - the bombings, the massacres, and the suicide attacks. Our newscasters take time to explain who the players are - from Hezbollah to the Iranian Quds, from ISIS to the Palestinian National Authority. But what is behind these events that fuels atrocity after atrocity?

An inspired and original compilation for the 2016 election year, God Is in the House is a collection of essays by members of Congress who reflect on their deep faith and how it guides them as legislators. Compiled by Representative Virginia Foxx, who personally asked for contributions from congressional colleagues and coworkers, God Is in the House features essays from 18 members of Congress from both political parties, representing 11 faiths and denominations.

In his compelling new book, The Catholic Case for Trump, Austin Ruse cuts through leftist lies aimed at squashing the Catholic vote and offers his audience-broken down into three categories of liberal, faithful, and generic Catholics - a guide as to why all Catholics should not only vote for President Trump, but do so enthusiastically with confidence that he is the only moral choice.

> The Teavangelicals is a one-of-a-kind book chock-full of original reporting from the 2012 presidential race, with an up-close look at how evangelicals and the Tea Party are plotting strategy to reclaim America. In his trademark breezy, funny, and engaging style, David Brody takes you inside the blossoming Teavangelical movement and describes how it is having a major effect on today’s politics with an eye on dominating the political affairs of tomorrow.

This book is about Sally Kern, District 84 House of Representatives member from Oklahoma, and her desire to see America return to the conservative principles that guided the nation's founders. In January 2008, the pastor's wife and former high school teacher gave a speech to a Republican club in Oklahoma City explaining that the founding fathers believed Christian principles would lead to a civilized society, individual self-government, good citizens, the elevation of learning, and a cohesive value system.

Victor Gold is dismayed and saddened by what has happened to the GOP he respected and supported. The party he joined in the 60s once believed that religion was a personal matter, that the natural environment should be protected, and that George Washington's warning against "foreign entanglements" should be heeded.

Jay Sekulow - one of America's most influential attorneys - explores the current political landscape in which bureaucracy has taken over our government and provides a practical road map to help take back our personal liberties.

The stunning popularity of the “New Atheist” movement - whose most famous spokesmen include Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens - speaks to both the growing ranks of atheists and the widespread, vehement disdain for religion among many of them. In Faitheist, Chris Stedman tells his own story to challenge the orthodoxies of this movement and make a passionate argument that atheists should engage religious diversity respectfully.