Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life (Hardcover)

by Charles J. Chaput (Author)
Key Phrases: Jesus Christ, United States, American Catholics (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Advance Praise for Render unto Caesar

“Using arguments from history as well as the wisdom of the world’s greatest thinkers, Archbishop Chaput urges Catholics to live our faith without compromise and to use our faith as the foundation for renewing American society in the twenty-first century. His tone is one of ‘now or never,’ and his presentation is crisp, intelligent, and accessible to a wide audience. This is an important book for Catholics to read and consider if we are truly to make a difference in the public square. Archbishop Chaput has made a unique and significant contribution to the Church and the nation at a time when voices like his are needed to be raised and heard.”
—Very Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M., President, The Catholic University of America

“At a time when the ‘faith and values’ vote has never been more important, Archbishop Charles Chaput deftly explores the intersection of morality, reason, and politics. This isn’t just a book for Catholics, but for anyone who cares about the state of America’s soul —and how that concern might shape the 2008 elections.”
—John L. Allen Jr., NCR and CNN senior Vatican correspondent


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
Advance Praise for Render unto Caesar

“Using arguments from history as well as the wisdom of the world’s greatest thinkers, Archbishop Chaput urges Catholics to live our faith without compromise and to use our faith as the foundation for renewing American society in the twenty-first century. His tone is one of ‘now or never,’ and his presentation is crisp, intelligent, and accessible to a wide audience. This is an important book for Catholics to read and consider if we are truly to make a difference in the public square. Archbishop Chaput has made a unique and significant contribution to the Church and the nation at a time when voices like his are needed to be raised and heard.”
—Very Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M., President, The Catholic University of America

“At a time when the ‘faith and values’ vote has never been more important, Archbishop Charles Chaput deftly explores the intersection of morality, reason, and politics. This isn’t just a book for Catholics, but for anyone who cares about the state of America’s soul —and how that concern might shape the 2008 elections.”
—John L. Allen Jr., NCR and CNN senior Vatican correspondent

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Religion; 1 edition (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385522282
• ISBN-13: 978-0385522281
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,335 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Religion isn't a private affair, August 21, 2008

By	Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One of the most unfortunate consequences of both the US tradition of church/state separation and the evangelical protestant insistence that religion is primarily what goes on between the individual and God is the privatization of faith. The good Christian, so this perspective has it, compartmentalizes his or her faith, keeping it a personal, private affair. Issues of public policy and morality are best left to the secular powers and principalities.*

In his excellent Render Unto Caesar, Archbishop Charles Chaput invites Christian readers (and especially Roman Catholic ones) to rethink this position. The heart of Chaput's thesis is nicely expressed toward the end of the book. Drawing upon the long tradition of Catholic social teachings, Chaput argues that the Church as an institution and the individual Christian as a follower of Christ have the obligation to speak truth to power. This doesn't mean that he endorses either a theocracy or a government controlled by Christians. It does mean that the Church and her members live up to their prophetic calling as ambassadors of the Prince of Peace. As Chaput writes toward the end of his book,

"The Church claims no right to dominate the secular realm. But she has every right - in fact an obligation - to engage secular authority and to challenge those wielding it to live the demands of justice. In this sense, the Catholic Church cannot stay, has never stayed, and never will stay 'out of politics.' Politics involves the exercise of power. The use of power has moral content and human consequences. And the well-being and destiny of the human person is very much the concern, and the special competence, of the Christian community" (pp. 217-18).

In order to maintain its prophetic edge, however, the Church must walk a tightrope, resisting isolating itself from mainstream culture in the search for "purity" on the one hand, and allowing itself to be absorbed by mainstream culture in the search for "relevance" on the other. Perhaps the most interesting sections of Chaput's book are his discussions of how to navigate through these two possibilities.

An exciting, reasonably argued, and prophetic book. Highly recommended.
____________
* Obviously evangelical Protestants since the inception of the Moral Majority have gotten involved in politics, thus stretching their traditional "private relationship with Jesus" position. But their manner of bringing religion to politics tends not to follow in the liberal tradition of Catholic social teachings from Leo XIII to the documents of Vatican II.

101 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific read, August 15, 2008

By	Michael Degnan (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I read this overnight and couldn't put it down. Chaput has an easy, engaging writing style, but don't let that fool you. He has a deep grasp of history and a forceful message about the role of Catholic faith in shaping and humanizing the public square. He deals with all the tough issues, but this is not primarily a book about abortion or Communion wars or which political party is good or bad. It's much richer and more challenging than than that. This is simply the best book I've read about the American Catholic political vocation. If you want to know what the words "American and Catholic" really mean, read this book.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read before November and after, August 25, 2008

By	Catholic priest (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

An excellent resource for faithful Catholic voters during this election year and for others who want to truly understand them.
Great summary of Vatican II and its aftermath, especially in relation to the American political scene and the beliefs of American Catholics. Great discussion of the differences between toleration, pluralism and religious conviction! Loaded with useful references for further reading in sociology, theology and political theory.
I've bookmarked at least 30 paragraphs and quotations for further reading and preaching.