Education Religion Common Good

by Martin E. Marty

Distinguished scholar and author Martin E. Marty has had a lifetime of conversations about public religion in America. Out of the dialogues hosted by the Public Religion Project, he has gathered an abundance of heartfelt questions and candid reflections on the issues from teachers and administrators in public, private, and denominational schools, elementary to postgraduate. Their concerns reflect our Does allowing religion into the curriculum inject conflict into our children's lives? Does it deny our families critical decisions? Can schools create good citizens without teaching about religion?

To read Just What Are We Talking About, Anyway?, an excerpt from this book,click here.

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Martin E. Marty was an American religious scholar and historian known for his extensive work on religion in the United States. A Lutheran pastor before transitioning into academia, he became a leading voice in religious studies, particularly in the areas of American Protestantism, fundamentalism, and public religion. He was a longtime professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he mentored numerous doctoral students and held the prestigious Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professorship.
Marty wrote or edited a book for nearly every year of his academic career, producing influential works such as Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America, which won the National Book Award, and the five-volume Fundamentalism Project, co-edited with R. Scott Appleby. He was a prolific columnist for The Christian Century and wrote extensively on religion's role in American public life.
A recipient of numerous honors, including the National Humanities Medal and over 80 honorary doctorates, Marty also served as president of several academic societies and participated in U.S. presidential commissions. The Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago was named in his honor.

Reviews

[Michael Battistone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews that this was a fairly basic overview, which probably could have been condensed into a long paper or monograph, rather than a book. I think the most valuable chapters were towards the end, particularly chapter 9, which summarizes some of the perspectives collected in the 3-year Public Religion Project at the University of Chicago. I was surprised to see no mention of John Henry Newman's "The Idea of a University", which no longer contemporary (published in 1873), still provides important historical grounding.

[Andrew Tatusko · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very elementary swathe of the issues regarding religions and public education. Raises decent general questions, but does not hone on on the issues enough. Steven Prothero's "Religious Literacy" is not only more detailed, but makes a better case while addressing virtually the same question.

[Kate Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was hoping for. A lot of history / "how we got here," when I wanted to actually engage the questions that they list. Still, the questions are good in Chapter 9, "Religion in Higher Education:"
- How can a diverse public overcome intolerance without weakening strong commitments?
- Can Americans still be drawn together by some common narrative?
- Can the university guarantee religious questions that would serve as effective cultural criticism?
- What motivates religious studies in a time of cultural crisis?

Concluding chapters really don't hold up well - we've become so much more polarized in the last 20 years. And, the main point stays the same: We must study the interaction among and between various "subpublics" and the general public -- and religious studies have something to offer this.

Instead of this, read David Brooks' 2021 opinion piece in the NYTimes, "How To Destroy Truth."