Christodemocracy and the Alternative Democratic Theory of America's Christian Right

by Gabriel S. Hudson

Overview

This book evaluates the democratic theory of America’s Christian Right (CR). The CR has been examined extensively in academic literature. However, most analyses focus on its origins, policy preferences, or successful mobilization. Hudson instead examines the normative assumptions about governance that inform CR activism. The CR has its own answers to the core questions asked in democratic theory, such as “What legitimizes power?” and “What is the proper relationship between the state and the individual?” The author outlines ten normative assumptions of the CR and compares each to its counterpoint in liberal democratic theory. Much of what the CR believes about democracy comes from the same authors as modern and postmodern democratic theory but differs in its interpretation and application. The book describes in detail the theory of CR and demonstrates how the CR operates from a different view of governance than is usually associated with the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137523631
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	06/26/2016
Edition description:	1st ed. 2016
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gabriel S. Hudson is Adjunct Professor in the School Policy Government and International Affairs, George Mason University, USA.

Table of Contents

Preface .- 1. Christodemocracy is the Alternative Normative Framework assumed by America’s Christian Right .- 2. Christodemocracy is one of many normative frameworks used for understanding the behavior of democratic states .- 3. Christodemocratic Theory Is Based On Ten Core Assumptions .- 4. Discourse Analysis Provides a Qualitative Means for Recognizing Christodemocratic Assumptions Behind Political Activism .- 5. Christodemocracy Assumes That the Role of Any Government is to Enact Christian Morality .- 6. In Christodemocracy, Positive Religious Identity Supersedes Liberty of Conscience in a Competition of Rights .- 7. Christodemocracy Relies On a Provincial Historical Narrative to Justify Christian Primacy .- 8. Christodemocratic Rhetoric Equates Political Leveling with Persecution .- 9. Christodemocracy does not Recognize Rights that Contradict the Will of the Author of Rights .- 10. Christodemocracy Assumes a Fixed, Metaphysical Epistemology as the Measure of Agency and Expertise .- 11. Christodemocracy Paradoxically Embraces Populist Faith and Strict Hierarchical Authority .- 12. Christodemocracy is illiberal because it assumes collective consequences for individual behavior .- 13. Christodemocracy Rejects Political Outcomes Thought To Be The Product of an Illegitimate Identity .- Conclusion.