A Nation for All : How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America From the Politics of Division

On the eve of the most important presidential election in decades, A NATION FOR ALL sounds the trumpet to the tens of millions of U.S. Catholics who have refused to buy the notion that people of faith must subscribe to the narrow agenda of the far right. By shining the light of authentic Catholic teaching on pressing contemporary concerns like war, human dignity, poverty, and the looming global climate crisis, this book shows Catholics how their own faith tradition calls them to tackle a sweeping array of issues commonly left out of the faith and politics dialog. Most important, A NATION FOR ALL demonstrates how the core Catholic and Christian belief in promoting the common good can provide Americans of all faith traditions with a much-needed solution to the downward spiral of greed, materialism, and excessive individualism.

A Nation for all

American democracy is a bold experiment that works because we embrace the multitude of ideas and perspectives our diverse population brings to the political table. We have found ways to work together to realize our shared national goals—no matter what our politics, ethnicity, race, or religion.

In A Nation for All, Chris Korzen and Alexia Kelley explain how America's democracy is threatened by an insidious force from within our political landscape—a force the authors call the politics of division. The politics of division reflects the narrow agenda of culture warriors and the far right that encourages Americans to focus on their differences and distracts them from the things that really matter. Using this tactic—which is more appropriate for the playground than the public square—proponents of the politics of division have been able to seize power and enhance the bottom line for the few and powerful. The vital issues of war, poverty, the housing crisis, climate change, lack of health care, and decline of the middle class have for too long been largely ignored. This book shines the light of authentic Catholic teaching on these pressing concerns and reveals how that teaching can guide us to tackle a sweeping array of issues commonly left out of the faith and politics dialogue.

Most important, A Nation for All demonstrates how the essential Catholic and Christian belief in promoting the common good can provide Americans of all faith traditions with a much-needed solution to the downward spiral of greed, materialism, and excessive individualism.

Publishers Weekly

At the dawn of the 21st century, Americans are more divided than ever across political, economic, social, racial and religious lines. In this unoriginal call to action, Korzen and Kelley bemoan this division, urging American society to return to its unified roots by focusing on the common good. According to the authors, a politics of division encourages everybody to look out for themselves and not for each other. They trace the roots of poverty, war, climate crisis, abortion and inadequate health care to such division and point to a rich Catholic social tradition as a way of recovering an emphasis on the common good. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church teaches that human dignity and human rights-such as the rights to food, housing, work and education, among others-provide the foundation for the common good. The authors provide a short survey of Catholic social teaching (though they mysteriously leave out John Courtney Murray, the most famous Catholic proponent of the common good) and explain key themes of that social teaching, including solidarity and the preferential option for the poor. (May)

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A NATION FOR ALL: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good can Save America from the Politics of Division 1 Contents 5 Foreword 9 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 15 Why This Book? 22 Recovering Faith 24 A New Movement for the Common Good 27 Finding Solutions 31 Chapter 1: The Common Good 33 Origins of the Common Good 35 A Catholic Vision of the Common Good 36 Restoring the Common Good 41 Chapter 2: The Catholic Social Tradition 51 Surprising or Familiar? 52 Key Themes of the Catholic Social Tradition 55 Popes and Principles 61 Living the Catholic Social Tradition 71 Chapter 3: Church and State 75 The Truth About Separation 78 A Place for Faith 80 The Importance of Compromise 83 Church and State in the Catholic Tradition 85 Political Compromise and the Culture of Life 89 Chapter 4: Voting Catholic 97 Catholics and the Religious Right 99 Theology and the Politics of Division 105 Voting for the Common Good 110 Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship 113 Chapter 5: An Agenda for the Common Good 115 Poverty: The Root of All Problems 118 Abortion 124 The Global Climate Crisis 128 Health Care 130 War 132 Immigration 134 Chapter 6: Practicing the Common Good 137 Conviction or Cowardice? 141 Civility or Destruction? 144 Compromise or Disengagement? 147 Persuasion or Coercion? 150 Faith, Politics, and the Future of America 151 Resources on Catholic Social Teaching and the Common Good 157 Books 157 Papal Encyclicals and Other Church Documents 159 Other Organizations 160 Election Day Checklist 169 Inform Your Conscience 169 Apply Prudence to Choices 170 Vote for the Common Good 170 The Authors 171 Index 173 On the eve of the most important US presidential election in decades, A Nation for All sounds the trumpet to the tens of millions of U.S. Catholics who have refused to buy the notion that people of faith must subscribe to the narrow agenda of the conservative movement. Explores Catholic teaching on such contemporary concerns as war, human dignity, poverty, and the looming global climate crisis, showing Catholics how their own faith calls them to tackle issues commonly left out of the faith and politics dialog