Routledge Theology and Civil Society (Routledge Studies in Religion)

Product Description From food banks to migrant welcome committees, and community organisers to internet based campaigners, civil society is central to the North Atlantic social landscape. Theology and Civil Society advances our understanding of what civil society is and offers a theologically informed re-imagining of our shared social life. Prefaced by a foreword by the Rev. Dr Rowan Williams, this book explores contemporary manifestations of the kind of collective action observed in civil society since the 1800s. It then examines civil society as the sum of modern associations which mediate our relationships to the market and the state, but which cannot be identified fully with either the market or the state. Finally, three different perspectives on civil society are presented using insights from theologians such as John Milbank and Georg Hegel. This is a pertinent topic for contemporary society, and it is explored expertly here by an international panel of contributors. As such, it is an important volume for any scholar of Theology and Religious Studies and their interactions with Sociology and Politics. About the Author Charles Pemberton is the William Leech Research Fellow at the department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, UK. He is currently researching Britain’s Food Bank network. He completed a PhD at the University of Manchester in 2016 on charity, homelessness and the doctrine of creation.