Failing America's Faithful - How Today's Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way (Hardcover)

Instead of emphasizing the fact that we are all children of God, faith in America now divides communities." So charges Townsend, daughter of Robert Kennedy, who offers a faith-based platform for liberals.The right gets religion wrong, and the left doesn't get it at all, theologian Jim Wallis has observed. Townsend is proof to the contrary, a committed Catholic who despairs of the Church's political leanings and who counters with an ethic of service to the poor and powerless. In a neat but too-brief analysis, she contrasts her father's vision with that of Ronald Reagan, and by extension the liberal and conservative views of human nature. Asked by David Frost what people are put on earth for, RFK replied, "If you've made some contribution to someone else, to improve their life, and make their life a little more livable, a little more happy, I think that's what you should be doing." Reagan, by contrast, argued, "Each man must find his own salvation . . . every man to be what God intended him to be." Townsend dismisses the latter view as justification for "an entire multimillion-dollar industry that treats God as little more than a self-help guru who helps you be all you can be," and the notion of compassionate conservatism as "just another way to put the wolf in sheep's clothing." There is an appropriate role for religion and the religious in politics, Townsend argues, one that reconciles the liberating vision of the Founding Fathers with values born of faith, such as those contained in Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum; the public, she reckons, is ready for just such a hybrid, even as rightist clergy and politicians have insisted that it's a war of each against all out there, undermining "the sense of national unity and collective responsibility that has mattered so much throughout American history."Watch for elements of Townsend's well-framed argument at the 2008 Democratic Convention. (Kirkus Reviews)

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the oldest daughter of Robert Kennedy and the niece of John F. Kennedy, was born and raised a devout Catholic, who has come to feel that her church, and much of contemporary American Christianity, is failing its members. This book is a spiritual call to arms, an assault on the way American churches today involve themselves more in prescribing personal behavior, rather than working for the greater good of the community. The author recounts her own traditional Catholic upbringing, and the role of faith in the lives of her father and uncle, who were inspired by their religious beliefs to help build a just society. She gives examples of inspiring figures of the present and past, like Martin Luther King, Jr., her father, Robert Kennedy, and Rick Warren among others, whose spiritual values led them to devote themselves to helping others. She tells of her own spiritual crisis, as she witnessed the nurturing Catholic church of her childhood become increasingly alienated from the real concerns of its congregants.And finally, she offers a message of hope, showing how Americans today can reclaim their religious traditions and use them to transform their lives and our churches

General

Imprint:	Little, Brown
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	April 2007
First published:	March 2007
Authors:	Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Dimensions:	216 x 135 x 21mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	224
ISBN-13:	978-0-446-57715-1
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > General > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > General > General Promotions
LSN:	0-446-57715-4
Barcode:	9780446577151

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