Richard Neuhaus' The Naked Public Square can be summed up no better than the quote that is on the front of the book: "The book from which further debate about church-state relations should begin."
The book's contents are not for the young or those with short attention spans: however, his point is excellent, and twenty years after the writing of this book, Richard Neuhaus appears to have hit the nail square on the head.
The primary purpose of The Naked Public Square is to alert the reader to the coming of a new era in the United States. The era is not good or new: instead it is an evil that, here, now, sweeps across portions of the world. Europe, Russia and China seem to have already fallen victim to it, and the United States is the last great world power to meet it.
The terror is, of course, this naked public square. It is naked because it is without overarching belief, consensus, personal morality, or real, organized religion. It's a place where God cannot be mentioned, where vicious revenge is taken on any individual or group that may attempt to bring their religion or worldview into the mainstream. It's a place where the law needs only the justification of power to hold it's place, where the authority of the Bible, the church, God, and all other things that lay claim to authority not of this world are scorned as "intolerant." This naked public square indoctrinates every man to believe everything spiritual is relative, and that it is wrong, pointless, rude or all three to convince another individual to think his way. Religion is prevented from becoming solidly organized as a force that could challenge the moral legitimacy of the government or the culture-forming, powerful elite of society. Neuhaus says it would be enforced by the least likely of people: libertarian judges.
Though all of this seems rather depressing, Neuhaus reminds us that this naked public square is not unavoidable. This is a time of turmoil and a time when this country can choose a direction, and we must choose before someone else chooses for us.
The Naked Public Square is thought provoking, deep, interesting, and packing a huge dose of truth. I would recommend that every American or European read it to enlighten themselves and to remember its message every time they go to the polls.
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