“The pull of love”: mutual love as democratic virtue in Niebuhrian political theology
Although Reinhold Niebuhr's account of democracy aims to protect marginalized communities by restraining sin through the diffusion of power, the conceptions of sin and love that inform his political theology have anti-democratic consequences for members of these communities. I address this inco...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
[2016]
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| In: |
Political theology
Year: 2016, Volume: 17, Issue: 1, Pages: 73-90 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Niebuhr, Reinhold 1892-1971
/ Democracy
/ Love
/ Justice
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| IxTheo Classification: | KBQ North America KDD Protestant Church NCD Political ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Although Reinhold Niebuhr's account of democracy aims to protect marginalized communities by restraining sin through the diffusion of power, the conceptions of sin and love that inform his political theology have anti-democratic consequences for members of these communities. I address this inconsistency by revisiting his under-developed idea of mutual love and clarifying his account of sin. Mutual love occupies crucial terrain between agape and justice for Niebuhr, and therefore enables moral agents to achieve democratic goals. Given the nature and importance of mutual love, I clarify Niebuhr's account of sin by making his position on “self-love” more moderate than it often appears. |
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| ISSN: | 1462-317X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Political theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1179/1462317X15Z.000000000173 |