David S. Gutterman is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Linfield College.
"In an era of military conflict and economic hardship, religious and political leaders adamantly speak in the language of crisis. Whether one attributes this public religious fervor to a response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, millennial hopes and fears, a sense of moral decay (generally based on either growing economic inequality or the 'breakdown of the American family'), or a sign of the normal progression of the stages of history, the discourse of religious revival is increasingly prominent. And, as is amply evident in the United States and throughout the world, devout declarations of religious belief in the public sphere can bring intractable passions to politics." - from Chapter One; David S. Gutterman raises an important challenge to perspectives in democratic theory that view religious-political expression as incompatible with democratic action. Gutterman's emphasis on the malle-ability of religious narratives provides a salutary contrast to the narrow argument that defines religious expression as the declaration of absolute truth-claims. Gutterman also draws attention to the major significance of narratives related to the Book of Exodus for some influential political discourses in the United States. Paul Apostolidis, Whitman College"
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