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relation to social freedom. This chapter cannot offer an entire theory of the State and political authority, a complete vision of religious community, or an account of all social goods! We need to show that theological humanism The remainder of this chapter is the working out of that proposal and its
provides a perspective on how responsibly to inhabit political and religious communities in ways that ensure a religious and humane future. The next step is to engage the debate about the relation of religion, morality, and politics in current thought.
Historically, some thinkers tried to sever social and political decisions from moral ideas or religious ideals. Politics is the realm of power and power Politics and Moral Substance
alone. What is right and good, holy and just, are taken to be secondary, at best, to political considerations. The purpose of politics, as Machiavelli claimed, is to attain and keep power. Some forms of Marxism believe that “morality” is an ideology that blinds one to the real material conditions of a
society. Moral beliefs do not have critical leverage to challenge and alter political reality; they reflect social reality.flict that can transcend political means. Insofar as that is the case, human Each of these positions implies that there is no resolution to political con-
beings are always potentially in a war of all against all, as Thomas Hobbes put it. Religion is used to further political purpose and to achieve political loyalty. Machiavelli, for instance, writes that religion is useful in “directing armies, in animating the people, in keeping men good, and in shaming
the wicked.”his observation.political conflicts and to consider the place of religion and morality in social Thankfully, there have been others who sought different ways to resolve^5 A brief glance at the current world scene seems to confirm
life. What are these positions? One form of political theory important in the modern West, but now found elsewhere, argues that “morality” is the domain of embedded convictions and values, Hegel called it. These values and convictions are about what counts as good Sittlichkeit, as the German philosopher
conduct, just social relations, and a good life presupposed in the existence of a nation. Traditional values, the moral substance of a community, are the necessary background to any political structure, whether those beliefs are about tribal relations (as in some African nations), about the proper role of
women, or religious beliefs. Explicit norms for public decisions must articu-late but also draw from that moral substance. Without “moral substance,”