A Public Faith – How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good

Serving the Common Good in Public Life"Why should Christians use the resources of their faith to speak to and to serve the common good rather than reducing the faith to a message that soothes individuals or energizes them to pursue success? And how can they do that without coercing those who are not Christians? Miroslav Volf sets for himself the daunting task of addressing these two deep and urgent questions in a way that is both widely accessible and that takes account of the scholarly literature. He succeeds on all counts."
--Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University; senior fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia "Our efforts as people of faith to bring our religious convictions into the public arena have clearly malfunctioned in recent years. But Miroslav Volf does not want us to retreat to a 'private faith' mentality. Instead he offers profound counsel about how faith-based public advocacy can promote the common good in our increasingly pluralistic world. This important book is packed with wisdom!"
--Richard J. Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary "An indispensable guide for voices of faith within the arena of public discourse. A Public Faith is arguably the most important book on the topic since H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture."
--Randall Balmer, Columbia University "This insightful exploration of how Christians may faithfully engage today's political and pluralistic culture provides accessible, wise guidance for people of all faiths."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "[Volf] is one of the most well-respected modern theologians to address the issue of religion and politics in a fairly systematic way. His contribution in A Public Faith is highly original. . . . I found the book learned, interesting, and creative. It is written accessibly and will interest laypersons and scholars alike. The book deserves a wide audience and is one that will affect its readers well after they have turned the final page."
--Hunter Baker, Christianity Today (5-star review) A Public Faith was named one of the Top 100 Books and one of the Top 10 Religion Books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly. It also received a 2011 Book of the Year Award from Foreword Magazine and a 2012 Nautilus Silver Book Award.