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Am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts befinden sich die USA inmitten eines ausgedehnten "Kulturkrieges", der "Progressive" und "Konservative" in nahezu jeder innenpolitischen Frage spaltet. Der Beitrag untersucht die Rolle der Institutionen der Zivilgesellschaft bei der Vermittlung dieser Konflikte. Insbesondere analysiert er die Funktion der in gewisser Weise einzigartigen Institution gemeinnütziger Arbeit und ihre Fähigkeit, eine Brücke zwischen den Streitparteien und Konfliktlinien zu schlagen. Häufig werden diese Stiftungen jedoch selbst zu speziellen Interessengruppen und ihre Beteilung führt dazu, daß der Konflikt verschärft und eine demokratische Lösung der Spannungen zwischen Wertorientierungen um so schwieriger wird. (pre)

In primitive and nonindustrialized societies the typical (and in many cases, the exclusive) tasks of religious elites have revolved chiefly around the creation, modification, and maintenance of the symbolic universe of society. Such work invariably implied privilege and various kinds and degrees of political power. But with the expansion of the modern world order, the situation of religious elites has altered dramatically. For one, religious-knowledge workers make up a very small percentage of the ranks of a much larger knowledge sector. For example, while the percentage of religious-knowledge workers (including clergy) relative to the entire economically active population in the United States has remained relatively constant since 1870, the percentage of religious workers to the knowledge workers has declined by one half in the period between 1950 and 1970—a period of dramatic growth of the knowledge sector (see Table 1). By 1970, the percentage of religious-knowledge workers to knowledge workers generally had shrunk to one sixth of its proportionate size a century earlier. Between 1970 and 1984, this proportion has leveled off somewhat. In Western Europe and Japan the same patterns have become firmly established as well.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Preface: The Argument, in Brief -- Part I: Introduction -- 1. Our Promethean Longing -- Part II. The Historical Quest -- 2. Early Formulations -- 3. Three Schools of Enlightenment Thinking: And One Lingering and Disturbing Worry -- 4. The New Synthesis -- Part III. The Quest Thus Far -- 5. What Has Science Found? -- 6. The Proclivity to Overreach -- 7. Intractable Challenges -- Part IV. Enduring Quandaries -- 8. The Quest, Redirected -- 9. The Promethean Temptation: And the Problem of Unintended Consequences -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index