General Description:

ABOUT THIS BOOK

“People who take God seriously will not remain silent about their faith. They will often disagree about doctrine or policy, but they won’t be quiet. They can’t be. They’ll act on what they believe, sometimes at the cost of their reputations and careers. Obviously the common good demands a respect for other people with different beliefs and a willingness to compromise whenever possible. But for Catholics, the common good can never mean muting themselves in public debate on foundational issues of human dignity. Christian faith is always personal but never private. This is why any notion of tolerance that tries to reduce faith to private idiosyncrasy, or a set of opinions that we can indulge at home but need to be quiet about in public, will always fail.”
—From the Introduction

Few topics in recent years have ignited as much public debate as the balance between religion and politics. Does religious thought have any place in political discourse? Do religious believers have the right to turn their values into political action? What does it truly mean to have a separation of church and state? The very heart of these important questions is here addressed by one of the leading voices on the topic, Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver.

While American society has ample room for believers and nonbelievers alike, Chaput argues, our public life must be considered within the context of its Christian roots. American democracy does not ask its citizens to put aside their deeply held moral and religious beliefs for the sake of public policy. In fact, it requires exactly the opposite.

As the nation’s founders knew very well, people are fallible. The majority of voters, as history has shown again and again, can be uninformed, misinformed, biased, or simply wrong. Thus, to survive, American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry —people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square—respectfully but vigorously, and without apology. Anything less is bad citizenship and a form of theft from the nation’s health. Or as the author suggests: Good manners are not an excuse for political cowardice.

American Catholics and other persons of goodwill are part of a struggle for our nation’s future, says Charles J. Chaput. Our choices, including our political choices, matter. Catholics need to take an active, vocal, and morally consistent role in public debate. We can’t claim to personally believe in the sanctity of the human person, and then act in our public policies as if we don’t. We can’t separate our private convictions from our public actions without diminishing both. In the words of the author, “How we act works backward on our convictions, making them stronger or smothering them under a snowfall of alibis.”

Vivid, provocative, clear, and compelling, Render unto Caesar is a call to American Catholics to serve the highest ideals of their nation by first living their Catholic faith deeply, authentically.

The Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, a Capuchin Franciscan, and a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He lives in Denver, Colorado. He is the author, previously, of Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics.

 Browse For Similar Items In

• Catholic Books > Catholic Exchange Recommends > Integrated Life Books
• Catholic Books > Christian Living Books > In Society
• Catholic Books > Current Issues Books > Political Science / Government

A Tiber River reviewer hasn't written a review for this book yet.
Sign up as a Tiber River reviewer and see your review here!
(Apart from fame, you can also can get free stuff and gift certificates.)

Reviews:

Related Articles

1. Aquinas and More Thanksgiving Weekend Sale 11/25/2009

2. Indulgences for the Year of the Priest 06/05/2009

3. The Year of the Priest 06/04/2009

4. Fr. Vincent Capodanno - Priest of Heroic Virtue 06/01/2009

5. The Meaning of Lent 01/21/2009

6. St. Anthony the Great, Founder of Monasticism 01/14/2009

7. January 22 - A Day of Prayer and Penance for Life 01/14/2009

8. Catholic Schools Week 01/14/2009

9. Archbishop Fulton Sheen 01/14/2009

10. The Seven Capital Virtues 01/06/2009

11. The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy 01/06/2009

12. St. Francis de Sales 01/06/2009

13. The Seven Capital Sins 01/06/2009

14. The Amazing Grace Series 12/19/2008

15. Resources for Theology of the Body 11/13/2008

16. Catholic Advent Resources 11/04/2008

17. Resources for Eucharistic Adoration 10/21/2008

18. About the In Conversation With God Series 10/21/2008

19. The Placement of the Tabernacle 10/21/2008

20. What is a Scapular? 10/07/2008

21. On Lectio Divina 10/07/2008

22. Rublev's Holy Trinity Icon 10/07/2008

23. Respect Life Sunday 10/03/2008

24. About the Battle of Lepanto 10/01/2008

25. Mother Teresa's Secret Fire 10/01/2008

26. Novenas and the Election Novena 10/01/2008

27. About Guardian Angels 10/01/2008

28. Why Going to Mass is Not Optional 09/30/2008

29. The Women Who Led the Way 04/01/1996

Have a comment about this product? Please let us know.

If you would like a reply, please include your email address.

The Product Description Is Incomplete The Product Description Is Wrong The Product Image Is Incorrect This Product Should Not Be Carried
Comments:


Enter the text above: