Stanford University Press Religion in Public: Locke's Political Theology (Cultural Memory in the Present)

Product Description This book reconstructs John Locke's political theology to offer a revolutionary theory of the secular as public religion. Review It may seem impossible to say anything new about John Locke, but Elizabeth Pritchard has done just that. Combining careful readings of Locke's texts with creative applications of Lockean principles to contemporary disputes over culture, religion, and identity, her book will command a broad audience. The Locke, and the Lockeanism, that emerges here is more subtle, more nuanced, and frankly more interesting than the cardboard cut-out so often praised or denounced in contemporary discussions of liberalism. Political theorists, historians, and scholars of religion and culture should all find their views of Locke challenged and enriched in Pritchard's multifaceted reconsideration of this key figure and his legacy.--Andrew R. Murphy "Rutgers University" About the Author Elizabeth A. Pritchard is Associate Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College.