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"Morality Policy" published on by Oxford University Press.

An introductory chapter notes the historical impact of clergy on American politics & suggests that the emphasis on morality that is often attached to political issues places clergy in a unique position to influence policy debates & shape democratic norms. Special attention is given to what compels today's clergy to become involved in politics. The belief of some clergy that politics cannot be separated from daily life, & hence the church, is not universally shared within the religious community & political involvement can be risky for clergy in terms of both their livelihood & legitimacy. The nature of current morality politics is discussed, along with the ability of religious leaders to shape the interplay of religion & politics; the influence of the "social theologies" of different religious traditions on political choices; how personal contexts like race or gender affect clergy's decisions about participating in politics; & the degree to which clergy's political statements influence the views of church members & democratic politics in general. J. Lindroth

An introductory chapter notes the historical impact of clergy on American politics & suggests that the emphasis on morality that is often attached to political issues places clergy in a unique position to influence policy debates & shape democratic norms. Special attention is given to what compels today's clergy to become involved in politics. The belief of some clergy that politics cannot be separated from daily life, & hence the church, is not universally shared within the religious community & political involvement can be risky for clergy in terms of both their livelihood & legitimacy. The nature of current morality politics is discussed, along with the ability of religious leaders to shape the interplay of religion & politics; the influence of the "social theologies" of different religious traditions on political choices; how personal contexts like race or gender affect clergy's decisions about participating in politics; & the degree to which clergy's political statements influence the views of church members & democratic politics in general. J. Lindroth

"Theoretical Perspectives on Subnational Public Policy and LGBT Law" published on by Oxford University Press.

(Originally published in John A. Hall & Ian C. Jarvie [Eds], Transition to Modernity, 1992, see abstract 93c01707.) Max Weber's essays Science as a Vocation (1917) & Politics as a Vocation (1919) raised themes that Ernest Gellner later addresses with a more sanguine attitude. Weber seeks a morality specific to the pursuit of science & politics in the distinction he draws between vocation & profession. Weber's conception of the multiplicity of values leads him to vacillate between ethical pluralism & nihilism. This moral indeterminacy leads Weber to embrace nationalism & its symptomatic conflicts such as WWI. Gellner finds a moral meaning in science & scientific rationality that mediates the value pluralism of modernity. Gellner has a more thorough understanding of religion & nationalism in the modern world & accommodates them in his multilateral vision of the world without embracing them as means to salvation. 10 References. H. von Rautenfeld

"Comparative Abortion Law and Politics" published on by Oxford University Press.

Draws on Michel Foucault's later writings about aesthetics of existence to rebut claims by Jurgen Habermas that Foucault's self-defeating theory of power implies he had no particular political view. Foucault's aesthetics of existence indicates a representation of existence without recourse to moral codes or epistemological norms, ie, an ethical fabrication of existence based on a self-imposed moral code. His support for a critical ethos is argued to demonstrate a commitment to freedom & justice associated with particular practices of government. An aesthetic of existence does not necessarily imply a self-indulgent existence because it includes elements invoking concern with how one governs oneself & others, thereby fostering an individual's capacities of critical reflection on government. The aesthetics of existence is described as a constructivist or network conception of rights focused on individual or group prerogatives to resist a government they find intolerable. Foucault's personal relation to the politics of the time is discussed, maintaining that it was consistent with his ideas about aesthetic morality. 42 References. J. Lindroth