Constructing Civility: The Human Good in Christian and Islamic Political Theologies

283 Pages·2017·0.93 MB·English

by  Richard S. Park

Constructing Civility

RichaRd S. PaRk
Constructing Civility
The Human Good in Christian
and Islamic Political Theologies
u n i v e r s i t y o f n o t r e d a m e p r e s s
n o t r e d a m e , i n d i a n a
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
undpress .nd .edu
Copyright © 2017 by the University of Notre Dame
All Rights Reserved
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Park, Richard S., 1975– author.
Title: Constructing civility : the human good in Christian and Islamic political
theologies / Richard S. Park.
Description: Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017024323 (print) | LCCN 2017032084 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780268102753 (pdf) | ISBN 9780268102760 (epub) |
ISBN 9780268102739 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 0268102732
(hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Religion and politics. | Common good—Religious aspects. |
Religious ethics. | Religion and sociology. | Catholic Church—Doctrines. |
Islam—Doctrines.
Classification: LCC BL65.P7 (ebook) | LCC BL65.P7 P38 2017 (print) |
DDC 201/.72—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017024323
∞ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
To my wife, Christine,
whose strength and dignity
are my sine qua non

c o n t e n t s
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
one Religious Diversity and Public Civility 3
two Modernity’s Mayhem and the Need for Moral
Political Theory 17
three The Decline of Public Life 33
four A Case for the Human Good 55
five The Human Good and Catholic Social Thought 81
six The Human Good within Islamic Political Ethics 105
seven Public Civility and Islamic Political Theology 131
eight The Prospects of Public Civility 149
nine Th e Human Good and the Scope of Public Civility 169
Conclusion 191
Notes 195
Bibliography 231
Index 259

              
The gratitude one has for the benefits one receives can be difficult to put
into words. While recognizing this difficulty and risking some (possibly
obvious) omissions, I would like to acknowledge the help that I have
received in this effort of “constructing civility.” First and foremost, I
thank my parents, Brian and Soo, who have taught me, more through
life than with words, the virtues of a disciplined mind, a joyful spirit,
and a God-f earing disposition. They have sacrificed much; they have
shown even more.
I am deeply indebted for the always wise, never tiring, ever kind
feedback and friendship of Mark D. Chapman at the University of
Oxford. He never let on that he knew all of the answers to the ques-
tions he posed to me; surely, such is the mark of a brilliant educator. The
wisdom and moral courage of Os Guinness and David Horner—who
are themselves graduates of Oriel College, Oxford—have helped me to
see what true mentors are. Their strength of character, their care for this
world, and their devotion to following the Way are virtues I seek always
to emulate.
For various aspects of this multidisciplinary work, I thank, in
political theory, Monica Duffy Toft (Blavatnik School of Government,
Oxford); for my appreciation of social theory and modernity critique,
Os Guinness; in legal theory and Catholic social thought, Paul Y owell
(Oriel College, Oxford); for Islamic legal and political thought, the
scholars at the Center for Muslim- Christian Studies, Oxford, includ-
ing Shabbir Akhtar, Ida Glaser, and Martin Whittingham; and for
the incredible capacity of seeing how all of it fits together, my doctoral
supervisor, Mark Chapman. Through extensive feedback and collegial
encouragement, these distinguished thinkers have contributed greatly
to my academic journey at Oxford and beyond.
ix