Jon A. Shields, The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right

This is not a conformist book. Its thesis is bold: that political theorists and mainstream commentators have been looking for democracy in all the wrong places. The New Left's call for a reinvigorated, participatory democracy aligned " around contentious moral questions that animate citizens rather than bureaucratic, technical, or economic issues that tend to bewilder and subdue them " has been answered. But participation's harbingers stand not on the left but on the Christian Right, in particular the pro-life movement (Shields' main focus). Politics was once criticized as an elite, expert game that failed to involve ordinary citizens; the new politics of moral issues has ended that. Conservative evangelicals, once the least involved portion of the electorate, are now among the most involved. They are also, Shields claims, among the most deliberative—if we gloss deliberative values as we should. Such values, Shields argues, should be defined as " the norms of behavior that collectively make public deliberation possible. " Shields finds that Christian Right activists advocate, and inculcate in rank-and-file members through advocacy, training, and discipline, four such norms: " the practice of civility and respect, " " the cultivation of real dialogue by listening and asking questions, " " the rejection of appeals to theology, " and " the practice of careful moral reasoning. " The one alleged deliberative norm that the Christian Right rejects— " openness to alternative points of view " —is one that Shields believes we all should reject as inconsistent with justice-based social movements. Christian leaders " do not encourage activists to question their own convictions. " But Shields thinks this is a good thing. " Strong moral convictions, " not " moral skepticism, " give movements courage and purpose: no one regrets the moral confidence of abolitionists or freedom riders. Shields calls for " deliberative partisans " (his coinage, and his emphasis) who may use the Socratic method as a tool of persuasion but reject the Socratic goal of ceaseless self-questioning. Such partisans benefit society by putting forth their own views with " devotion and intellectual seriousness, " confident that the merit of any claim will bear on its success. This book challenges political theorists to engage " the empirical realities of political life, " especially the reality of necessary tradeoffs. Skeptical and nonpartisan citizens will not be easily mobilized to pursue civic goods; greater participation will come at the cost of some " …