In Christ and the Common Life Luke Bretherton provides an introduction to historical and contemporary theological reflection on politics and opens up a compelling vision for a Christian commitment to democracy. In dialogue with Scripture and various traditions, Bretherton examines the dynamic relationship between who we are in relation to God and who we are as moral and political animals. He addresses fundamental political questions about poverty and injustice, forming a common life with strangers, and constructively transforming asymmetries of power. And through his analysis of debates concerning, among other things, race, class, economics, the environ­ment, and interfaith relations, he develops an innovative political theology of democracy as a way through which Christians can speak and act faithfully within our current context. Read as a whole, or as stand-alone chapters, the book guides readers through the political landscape and identifies the primary vocabulary, ideas, and schools of thought that shape Christian reflection on politics in the West. Ideal for the classroom, Christ and the Common Life equips students to understand politics and its positive and negative role in fostering neighbor love. Table of Contents Introduction 1. What Is Political Theology? What Is Politics? Part One: Case Studies in Political Theology 2. Humanitarianism 3. Black Power 4. Pentecostalism 5. Catholic Social Teaching 6. Anglicanism Part Two: Sustaining a Common Life 7. Communion and Class 8. Secularity, Not Secularism 9. Toleration with Hospitality Part Three: Forming a Common Life 10. Humanity 11. Economy 12. Sovereignty 13. The People and Populism 14. Democratic Politics “Luke Bretherton’s new book is a tour de force: with clarity, empathy, and impressive learning he maps out the many current forces that threaten the future of Western democracy, then turns to defend it once more from the perspective of the demanding Christian teaching on mutual love. Perhaps the most distinctive achievement of this volume is its capacity to straddle the debates on both sides of the Atlantic and to draw them into illuminating contrast. Written with incisive clarity and remarkable accessibility, this book is not only a scholarly achievement of great note, but it also is a useful tool for teaching and discussion in universities, seminaries, and churches.” — Sarah Coakley University of Cambridge and Australian Catholic University, Melbourne “ Christ and the Common Life  is a monumental achievement in Christian political theology. Demonstrating mastery of a huge literature and multiple, diverse sub-traditions of Christian political thought, and offering a disciplined constructive theological vision of his own, Luke Bretherton offers important, often breakthrough reflections on the most significant issues in this field. In the end, the book offers hope for the renewal of Christian engagement with democratic politics, all over the world. An indispensable contribution.” — David P. Gushee Mercer University “Luke Bretherton has written an impressively expansive, smart, and sophisticated introduction to Christian political theology. Each chapter offers refreshing new perspectives on important topics. Moreover, Bretherton brings together and guides us through a wide array of scholarly literatures, from secular political theory to the sociology of Pentecostalism to Hebrew Bible scholarship, while also developing his own distinctive, persuasive theological voice.  Christ and the Common Life  will surely set the agenda in the field for a generation to come, orienting Christian political theology in the direction of justice.” — Vincent Lloyd Villanova University “Luke Bretherton has been thinking hard about the polis, plurality/pluralism, and democratic citizenship for a long time. This erudite synthesis and expansion of [Bretherton’s] work over the last two decades brims with insights into essential and interrelated topics, such as secularity, toleration, economy, sovereignty, and populism. This book makes the case for democracy and establishes the framework for discussions in Christian political theology for the next quarter century.” — Amos Yong Fuller Theological Seminary “Breaking the spell long cast over political theology by Augustine’s vision of the two cities, Luke Bretherton reads faithful pilgrimage to the heavenly city through the lens of a different journey, that of a certain man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and the one who was his neighbor. Politics is neighboring, negotiating a common life between friends, strangers, enemies, and the friendless, and political theology requires a kaleidoscopic approach, brilliantly instantiated in this book, that disrupts canon, shifts geography, and eschews sovereign placement in favor of active listening. A transformative contribution!” — Jennifer A. Herdt Yale Divinity School “Part of the intellectual achievement of this book is rendering political theology more und