Healthy Conflict in Contemporary American Society : From Enemy to Adversary

US citizens perceive their society to be one of the most diverse and religiously tolerant in the world today. Yet seemingly intractable religious intolerance and moral conflict abound throughout contemporary US public life - from abortion law battles, same-sex marriage, post-9/11 Islamophobia, public school curriculum controversies, to moral and religious dimensions of the Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street movements, and Tea Party populism. 'Healthy Conflict in Contemporary American Society' develops an approach to democratic discourse and coalition-building across deep moral and religious divisions. Drawing on conflict transformation in peace studies, recent American pragmatist thought, and models of agonistic democracy, Jason Springs argues that, in circumstances riven with conflict between strong religious identities and deep moral and political commitments, productive engagement may depend on thinking creatively about how to constructively utilize conflict and intolerance. The result is an approach oriented by the recognition of conflict as a constituent and life-giving feature of social and political relationships Us Citizens Perceive Their Society To Be One Of The Most Diverse And Religiously Tolerant In The World Today. Yet Seemingly Intractable Religious Intolerance And Moral Conflict Abound Throughout Contemporary Us Public Life--from Abortion Law Battles, Same-sex Marriage, Post-9/11 Islamophobia, Public School Curriculum Controversies, To Moral And Religious Dimensions Of The Black Lives Matter And Occupy Wall Street Movements, And Tea Party Populism. Healthy Conflict In Contemporary American Society' Develops An Approach To Democratic Discourse And Coalition-building Across Deep Moral And Religious Divisions. Drawing On Conflict Transformation In Peace Studies, Recent American Pragmatist Thought, And Models Of Agonistic Democracy, Jason Springs Argues That, In Circumstances Riven With Conflict Between Strong Religious Identities And Deep Moral And Political Commitments, Productive Engagement May Depend On Thinking Creatively About How To Constructively Utilize Conflict And Intolerance. The Result Is An Approach Oriented By The Recognition Of Conflict As A Constituent And Life-giving Feature Of Social And Political Relationships. Introduction -- Part I. Pragmatist Repertoires. The Difficulty Of Imagining Other Persons, Reimagined : Moral Imagination As A Tool For Transforming Conflict -- Turning The Searchlight Inward : Cultivating The Virtues Of Moral Imagination -- To Let Suffering Speak : Love, Justice, And Hope Against Hope -- The Prophet And The President : Prophetic Rage In The Age Of Obama -- Testing The Spirits : Discerning True Prophecy From False -- Dismantling The Master's House : Using The System To Transform The System -- Part Ii. Beyond American Intolerance. Giving Religious Intolerance Its Due : Agonistic Respect And The Transformation Of Conflict In A Post-secular Society -- Looking It Up In Your Gut? : Visceral Politics And Healthy Conflict In The Tea Party Era -- Islamophobia, American Style : Tolerance As American Exceptionalism, And The Prospects For A Strenuous Pluralism -- Conclusion : Strenuous Pluralism And Healthy Conflict. Jason A. Springs. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Acknowledgments page ix Introduction 1 Part I Pragmatist Repertoires 1 The Difficulty of Imagining Other Persons, Reimagined: Moral Imagination as a Tool for Transforming Confl ict 13 2 Turning the Searchlight Inward: Cultivating the Virtues of Moral Imagination 41 3 To Let Suffering Speak: Love, Justice, and Hope against Hope 62 4 The Prophet and the President: Prophetic Rage in the Age of Obama 99 5 Testing the Spirits: Discerning True Prophecy from False 128 6 “Dismantling the Master’s House”: Using the System to Transform the System 159 Part II Beyond American Intolerance 7 Giving Religious Intolerance Its Due: Agonistic Respect and the Transformation of Conflict in a Post- Secular Society 195 8 Looking It Up in Your Gut? Visceral Politics and Healthy Confl ict in the Tea Party Era 226 9 Islamophobia, American Style: Tolerance as American Exceptionalism, and the Prospects for a Strenuous Pluralism 272 Conclusion: Strenuous Pluralism and Healthy Conflict 311 Select Bibliography 321 Index 343 Develops an approach to contemporary religious, moral, and political conflicts in which conflict may be constructively reframed and creatively engaged toward productive democratic practice, rather than viewed mainly as a source of aversion that needs to be rooted out or resolved once and for all.