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The World Is Not Yet Completed: Moral Imaginaries And Everyday Politics In Progressive Religious Communities, Todd Nicholas Fuist

Dissertations

How religion shapes political and civic engagement has been a consistently fruitful question for American social theorists. Religion has often been understood as providing the moral underpinnings of civil society, traditionally in ways that promote cohesion or preserve the status quo. Despite this, there has been a long tradition of progressive religious engagement in American civic and political life, including the abolitionist movement, civil rights movement, and anti-nuclear movement. Through an ethnographic examination of six politically progressive religious communities, including two communes and four congregations, I examine how religion is put towards progressive ends. Through this, I develop the concept …