"Here, finally, the collection we've been waiting for—thoughtful and lively essays on the relevance of liberalism for this new century, by some of its keenest observers."—Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley

Philosophy of Religion for a New Century represents the work of nineteen scholars presented at a conference in honor of Eugene T. Long at the University of South Carolina, April 5-6, 2002. This volume is a good example of philosophy in dialogue; there is both respect and genuine disagreement. First, an account of our present situation in the Philosophy of Religion is given, leading to a discussion of the very idea of a 'Christian Philosophy' and the coherence of the traditional concept of God. The implications of science and a concern for the environment in our concepts of God are carefully examined. A discussion follows on the possibility of speech about God and silence about God. Since much of modern European philosophy is concerned with the `Death of God' theme, the positions of Nietzsche and some of his twentieth-century interpreters are presented. There are presentations on Feminist Approaches to Philosophy of Religion, and Comparative Religion is examined in relation to cultures and the demands of rationality. The volume concludes with a critical dialogue on the relation of Religious Discourse to the Public Sphere. Developing global awareness has led to significant change in the Philosophy of Religion. One-dimensional approaches have given way to honest dialogue. The traditional boundaries between the secular and the religious have shifted, and new approaches to traditional problems are required. This volume presents examples of these new approaches.

The aim of this book is to explain how Britain's circumstances changed between 1846 - 1964: Britain in 1846 was by far the richest nation in the world. In 1964, Britain was, comparatively, much less rich than the USA and, though amongst the world's richest nations, was losing ground to Japan and to Western Europe. Because of her wealth and her navy, Britain in 1846 was the most powerful nation in the world. Britain in 1964 was dwarfed by the superpowers of the USA and the USSR. The British Empire of the 1840s refelcted Britain's power. By 1964 the Empire was collapsing. Only one in five men (and no women) could vote in the Britain of 1840s. By 1964 Britain was fully democratic, with all adults entitled to vote. In a period of a little over a century, these were some of the changes to which Britain had to adapt. It was a period that marked a substantial fall in Britain's comparative power and prosperity in the world.

On world politics.

Politics and Religion in the New Century contains a collection of philosophical reflections on the intersection of religion and the political in contemporary social, political and intellectual life.

Founded in 1900, the National Civic Federation (NCF), a broad-based, nongovernmental social and policy reform organization, emerged throughout the Progressive Era as one of the nation's most powerful policy research and lobbying groups. Amidst the strong demand by rank-and-file Americans for economic and social reform, the NCF proposed that the government begin to assume a more prominent role in managing the nation's economy and providing for the needs of the country's weakest and most vulnerable citizens. The organization constructed broad-based coalitions of business leaders, labor leaders, social scientists, and politicians with diverse backgrounds to fashion model legislation and promote public policy aimed at meeting the demands created by modern capitalism. Cyphers' work challenges the longstanding assumption that organizations like the NCF existed simply to build a relationship between big business and the government for the sole benefit of big business. He argues that the NCF sought the preservation of the fundamental tenets of American liberalism and the redefinition of this liberalism for a modern polity whose life was shaped by industrial and commercial capitalism. It saw the individual states, rather than the federal government, as the ideal mechanism to promote uniform economic and social reform. Cyphers also charts the origins of civic cooperation and the creation of voluntary associations as alternatives to the statist remedies to modern economic and social problems that were championed by America's early 20th-century socialist movement.

Liberty has underpinned the Judeo-Christian ideal for millennia, and it was the idea of liberty that molded Europe. But liberty is constantly under threat from governments and their apologists who seek to over-tax and over-regulate.

'Votes should be weighed, not counted', Nineteenth-century liberals argued. This study analyzes parliamentary suffrage debates in England, France and Germany, showing that liberals throughout Europe used a distinctive political language, 'the discourse of capacity', to limit political participation. This language defined liberals, and they used it to define and limit full citizenship. The rise of consumer culture at the end of the century drove the discourse of capacity from politics, but it survives today in education and the professions.