A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community

by Adam Russell Taylor, John Lewis (Foreword)

America is at a pivotal crossroads. The soul of our nation is at stake and in peril. A new public narrative is needed to unite Americans around common values and to counter the increasing discord and acrimony in our politics and culture. The process of healing and creating a more perfect union in our nation must start now. The moral vision of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Beloved Community, which animated and galvanized the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, provides a hopeful way forward. In A More Perfect Union , Adam Russell Taylor, president of Sojourners, reimagines a contemporary version of the Beloved Community that will inspire and unite Americans across generations, geographic and class divides, racial and gender differences, faith traditions, and ideological leanings. In the Beloved Community, neither privilege nor punishment is tied to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or economic status, and everyone is able to realize their full potential and thrive. Building the Beloved Community requires living out a series of commitments, such as true equality, radical welcome, transformational interdependence, E Pluribus Unum (""out of many, one""), environmental stewardship, nonviolence, and economic equity. By building the Beloved Community we unify the country around a shared moral vision that transcends ideology and partisanship, tapping into our most sacred civic and religious values, enabling our nation to live up to its best ideals and realize a more perfect union.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology, Faith, Politics

249 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2021

About the author

Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners, an ecumenical Christian organization that works to advance justice and peace. He previously led the Faith Initiative at the World Bank Group, served as Vice President of Advocacy at World Vision U.S., was cofounder and executive director of Global Justice, and was selected as a White House Fellow under the Obama administration. A graduate of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Taylor is ordained in the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention and serves at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Reviews

[Lucy Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

ngl it kinda read like a college class I’ve already taken.

Im totally tracking with this author and think this sort of book is actually a very important and truthful take on how America has ended up the way it is today, and where we can go from here. It talked about issues I am already aware of, but with new anecdotes so that was helpful to continue to round out my understanding of how all this works out in the world.

I would give it three stars personally, but I actually don’t want to do that since I think it’s actually a really insightful book and I’m just feeling snobby (and now wondering why I think something has to change my entire world for me to consider it worthy of more stars?)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just wrote a whole review and Goodreads deleted it, so let me try again. There’s a lot to think about when reading this book, so it’s worth diving right in.

Taylor presents a theologically sound and politically motivated book. The thesis is straight forward - the U.S. is not currently religiously and politically synced to pursue the beloved community. This is not a shock. Taylor then provides a series of amazing “beatitudes” that lay out a path forward for seeking such a community. These include everything from environmental justice to fighting to preserve our democracy. What is beautiful about this essay is that it is exegetical, not simply picking out versus but grounding itself in theological debates such as the understanding of Imago Dei.

Yet the reason I give the book four out of five is because there is one missing component that drives me nuts - the need to address the very system of the U.S. Taylor supposes that such reform and progression can be achieved through the system we currently have. I would disagree. How can we truly pursue and ultimately arrive at a beloved community in a nation-state system that suppresses its minorities and doesn’t represent the true will of the people? But, perhaps, Taylor takes an alternative approach and says that this is the only system we have and thus the one we must work within. He isn’t wrong, and therefore we must continually fight for these changes, but this component isn’t fully addressed in the book.

For example and clarity, I would argue that in response to Trumpism, as Taylor notes, we believed it would be better. But the current administration has not lived up to its promises on environmental justice, poverty alleviation, voter protection and more. We can keep putting our hope and work into the system, but the more we believe this is all achievable within this system, the more, I believe, we become hopeless and lost.

I’m the end, it is a beautifully constructed book. Sometimes the message seems scattered, but Taylor is quick to snap you back on track. And while I may be more pessimistic, read what Taylor has to say, because truly it is inspiring and will challenge you to think about our current way of theology and politics in this nation.

[Matt Fieldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear, concise, and cogent argument for a more compassionate, caring America. Adam does a fantastic job outlining where we are currently, the history that got us here, and then lays out a compelling vision for a more equitable future.

[Nathan Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Encouraging and tangible examples of the beloved community and a way forward together.

[Steve Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor calls for something like a third American reconstruction to try to realize a version of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision for the Beloved Community. The term was first utilized by early 20th century philosophy and theologian Josiah Royce and other members of an interfaith group called the Fellowship of Reconciliation. "For King, the Beloved Community is the actualization of an inclusive human community. It is a mutually cooperative and voluntary venture of humans to assume a semblance of responsibility for their brothers and sisters. King describes the Beloved Community as a vision of total interrelatedness. It is the solidarity of the human family. Because, people are dependent upon each other and are knitted together in a single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." (58)

Adam Russell Taylor's vision includes myth-busing, truth telling, overcoming toxic polarization, and redeeming patriotism. Fruit or features of the community must include:
--a deep commitment to the dignity of all humans
--radical welcome of strangers
--inclusive, interdependent (ubuntu) economics
--nonviolence
--environmental stewardship
--revitalized democracy.

[Brian Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Highly recommended. For many of the ideas, the author described people or organizations working with and/or working to implement the idea.
Taylor presents four building blocks of the beloved community in separate chapters. They are: Unmasking America’s Myths (e.g., myth of a chosen nation), Telling the Whole Truth to Set Us Free, Overcoming Toxic Polarization, Redeeming Patriotism.
He also writes 7 separate chapters describing fundamental values of the beloved community. He labels these values beatitudes and they are: Equality: the Imago Dei Imperative, Radical Welcome, Ubuntu Interdependence (“Ubuntu is the substance and core being of a person and speaks particularly about the fact that we cannot be fully formed as human beings in isolation.”), Prioritizing Non-violence, Environmental Stewardship, Dignity for All, Revitalizing and Reinventing Democracy.
His writing on equality is passionate and incorporates religious ideas. The text is well footnoted providing the reader with references for further detail.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a complicated reaction to this. I am deeply sympathetic to Taylor's concerns about what plagues America, and even to many of his policy solutions. I don't think the way he frames it in this book, however, takes conservative pushback seriously enough to merit a hearing that will actually contribute to the healing he wants to see take place.

I will unpack this more in a written review for Englewood Review of Books, forthcoming.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workman-like, but uninspired. I was hoping to find a clear and moving call to action. Instead, my take-away is a welter of detailed prescriptions that don't resolve into any focussed path forward. I would re-read it if someone could show me what I missed here.

[Sister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Rev. Taylor's columns in Sojourners and so wanted to read this book. I was not disappointed. It is a thought-provoking, Scripturally-based set of reflections and prescriptions for what the Beloved Community can look like and how we can get there.

[Frodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor’s has tried to provide a guide book for making America “a more perfect Union” and an antidote for the MAGA movement. In a country polarized by angry, racist and divisive rhetoric Taylor offers plans for building the “Beloved Community.” Refreshing and hopeful.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed reading this book. He gives a very compelling vision for striving for a more perfect union.

[Meade J Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh thoughts on current struggles with race, economy, fear and faith. Personal and public and spiritual and revolutionary.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book that gives practical strategies for improving our country, informed from a faith perspective. Enjoyed reading and discussing this book. Recommended!

[Brenda Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very academic. Didn't finish for that reason and because I recently read another book on the same subject. I read about 1/3 before I stopped this one.

[Caleb Shenk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really struggled to finish this book. He's not a good writer, and the concept could be explained in a short article or homily. He was just repeating talking points, buzzwords, and common sense liberal religious viewpoints. It drew way too heavily from MLK, with very little innovative or original commentary. The small, few takeaways I garnered include that politicians, laws, Congress and individual persons will not save us; it will take organizations of moral conscience. The church, at its best, serves as the conscience of the state, to provide our moral foundation and framework for a beloved community. Politics should not be the start or end of a Beloved Community, but the Community must be enacted at least in part through the political realm.