Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy

Politics and Culture

De: Jonathan Rauch

Narrado por: Asa Siegel

What happens to American democracy if Christianity is no longer able, or no longer willing, to perform the functions on which our constitutional order depends? In this provocative book, the award-winning journalist Jonathan Rauch—a lifelong atheist—reckons candidly with both the shortcomings of secularism and the corrosion of Christianity. Thin Christianity, as Rauch calls the mainline church, has been unable to inspire and retain believers. Worse, a Church of Fear has distorted white evangelicalism in ways that violate the tenets of both Jesus and James Madison. What to do? For answers, Rauch looks to a new generation of religious thinkers, as well as to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has placed the Constitution at the heart of its spiritual teachings.

In this timely critique Rauch addresses secular Americans who think Christianity can be abandoned, and Christian Americans who blame secular culture for their grievances. The two must work together to confront our present crisis. He calls on Christians to recommit to the teachings of their faith that align with Madison, not MAGA, and to understand that liberal democracy, far from being oppressive, is uniquely protective of religious freedom. At the same time, he calls on secular liberals to understand that healthy religious institutions are crucial to the survival of the liberal state.

©2025 Jonathan Rauch (P)2025 Tantor Media

Faith, Respect, and the Common Good

In Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy by Jonathan Rauch, I found the insight I had been searching for—a way forward amid the increasingly polarized rhetoric in U.S. politics. It was just what I was searching for!

As a person with no particular religious faith—only a spiritual nature and a deep sense that we are all connected—I believe deeply in treating others as we wish to be treated. I value the basic morality necessary for a civil society and the ability to compromise for the benefit of all.

What I have struggled to understand is how so many who call themselves Christians can embrace the idea that “the ends justify the means”—as seen in the rise of White Nationalism. I believe white nationalists are leading our country down a dangerous path and turning the world against us. For example, accepting Donald Trump’s treatment of women, sexual abuse allegations, deliberate attacks on perceived enemies, and repeated lies as somehow compatible with Christian values is, to me, incomprehensible.

In Cross Purposes, Rauch examines the problems and rationales from all sides, offering a clear and comprehensive understanding of how we arrived at this moment. Most importantly, he presents a viable solution for building a healthier civil society under our Constitution—one grounded in a pluralistic vision.
This book is both eye-opening and hopeful. It offers a path to bridge political divides, showing that democracy and morality can—and must—coexist.

revelatory

what I learned about the LDS church alone was worth listening, but the entire book was extremely helpful