Category Archives: Social Capital

Fixing Politics?

I’ve heard many pine for a better practice of politics in our society. They’re tired of the gridlock, the bickering, the constant attacks. They want to make progress on issues that “concern us all.” David Brook’s recent column is along … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Liberalism, Politics, Social Capital | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Immune Systems, Individual and Social

I listened to Russ Robert’s interview with Moises Valsquez-Manoff (on Econtalk) yesterday on my drive to pick up my daughter. The conversation was about recent studies showing the role increased hygiene plays in the rise of allergies and auto-immune diseases. … Continue reading

Posted in Al Qaeda, Clash of Civilizations, Politics, Robert Putnam, Samuel Huntington, Social Capital, United Methodism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

American Grace

Just finished another one of my Christmas books, American Grace by Robert Putnam and David Campbell. It is a sociological study of the current state of religion in America. Sociology of religion is not my field, but I try to … Continue reading

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Moderating Islam

Ever since 11 September 2001 people in the West have been searching for “moderate Islam.” A couple of days ago I briefly mentioned Akbar S. Ahmed’s book, Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World, with particular reference to … Continue reading

Posted in Clash of Civilizations, Islam, Social Capital | 1 Comment

Thinking about diversity

Much of my current research focuses on the connection of Christian political theology with three popular streams of social study/philosophy: Samuel Huntington’s work on the Clash of Civilizations. (I’m familiar with Huntington’s work through his books The Clash of Civilizations … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair MacIntyre, Clash of Civilizations, Diversity, Globalization, Robert Putnam, Samuel Huntington, Social Capital, Tradition | Leave a comment