Why Politics Needs Religion: The Place of Religious Arguments in the Public Square

Brendan Sweetman (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is professor of philosophy at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. He has also taught at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles). His books include Faith and the Life of the Intellect (coeditor with Curtis L. Hancock) and Truth and Religious Belief (coauthor with Curtis L. Hancock).

"Brendan Sweetman has done us a service for continuing the rich conversation about the relationship between religion and politics."

"A first-rate book--original in thought, vigorous in prose, and bulging with bibliographic reference."

"This book serves as a brief to let the religious contend for public policies on religious grounds on a truly equal footing. Let the contest begin."

"Sweetman shows why religion is important to any debate, but it, or any other idealism, should not overshadow the moral issues. Our beliefs have a definite impact on our morals and how we feel they should be handled. Sweetman argues that we don't need to prove our beliefs, but rather keep them rational and realize other groups also have rational beliefs. And for us to really have a democracy, and have a fair worldview of who and what we are, we need to include religion in politics."

"Sweetman's work is not merely a defense of religion's place in the public arena, but a promotion of the religious worldview as more reasonable than the prevailing secularism. His arguments are cogent, accessible, and thought-provoking. Highly recommended [to] lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers [and] general readers."

"Sweetman addresses major matters which are highly relevant to contemporary political debates. His book should stimulate hard thinking, not least by those who claim a historic position regarding the relationship of religion and politics."