Practice and Improvise: A Christian Response to the Politics of Morality
Main Article Content
Abstract
Over many years, American political theorist William E. Connolly has offered a sustained critique of the “politics of morality.” Connolly made his case initially by attacking themes in the theological writings of Augustine of Hippo. In response to Connolly’s initial challenge, this essay promotes a conception of Christian ethics that reflects other Augustinian themes than those Connolly resisted. Drawing on the work of H. Richard Niebuhr and Sam Wells, I show how Christian ethicists have developed accounts of improvised responsibility. The essay concludes that such accounts are congruent with Connolly’s vision of politics as critical pluralism based on agonistic respect.
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).