The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion Versus Environmental Religion in Contemporary America

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Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Trd) (December 7, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0271035811
ISBN-13: 978-0271035819
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Nelson compellingly argues that religion is a powerful force in economic and social life, . . . even if that fact is seldom recognized by most academics and policy makers. The dominant religious influences are secularized versions of Catholicism and Protestantism, not because the leading scholars are piously trying to advance their faith by other means, but because their intellectual horizons have been shaped by world-views that have framed their consciousness. He convinces me that unless these presuppositions are acknowledged, examined, broadened, and revised, the economic and ecological crises that the world now faces will not be understood or met at their deeper levels. --Max L. Stackhouse, Princeton Theological Seminary Nelson makes an overwhelmingly persuasive case that in our times the leading secular religion was once economics and is now environmentalism. . . . Out of that utterly original idea for scholarly crossovers good Lord, an economist reading environmentalism and even economics itself as theology! come scores of true and striking conclusions. . . . It's a brilliant book, which anyone who cares about the economy or the environment or religion needs to read. That s most of us. --Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago Robert Nelson argues that environmentalism is a religion. . . . This provocative thesis raises hard and embarrassing questions about the bases of environmentalism that every serious student of the subject must confront. --Dan Tarlock, Chicago-Kent College of Law Nelson makes an overwhelmingly persuasive case that in our times the leading secular religion was once economics and is now environmentalism. . . . Out of that utterly original idea for scholarly crossovers good Lord, an economist reading environmentalism and even economics itself as theology! come scores of true and striking conclusions. . . . It s a brilliant book, which anyone who cares about the economy or the environment or religion needs to read. That s most of us. --Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago Robert Nelson argues that environmentalism is a religion. . . . This provocative thesis raises hard and embarrassing questions about the bases of environmentalism that every serious student of the subject must confront. --Dan Tarlock, Chicago-Kent College of Law Nelson makes an overwhelmingly persuasive case that in our times the leading secular religion was once economics and is now environmentalism. . . . Out of that utterly original idea for scholarly crossovers good Lord, an economist reading environmentalism and even economics itself as theology! come scores of true and striking conclusions. . . . It s a brilliant book, which anyone who cares about the economy or the environment or religion needs to read. That s most of us. --Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago Robert Nelson argues that environmentalism is a religion. . . . This provocative thesis raises hard and embarrassing questions about the bases of environmentalism that every serious student of the subject must confront. --Dan Tarlock, Chicago-Kent College of LawNelson makes an overwhelmingly persuasive case that in our times the leading secular religion was once economics and is now environmentalism. . . . Out of that utterly original idea for scholarly crossovers good Lord, an economist reading environmentalism and even economics itself as theology! come scores of true and striking conclusions. . . . It s a brilliant book, which anyone who cares about the economy or the environment or religion needs to read. That s most of us. --Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois at ChicagoRobert Nelson argues that environmentalism is a religion. . . . This provocative thesis raises hard and embarrassing questions about the bases of environmentalism that every serious student of the subject must confront. --Dan Tarlock, Chicago-Kent College of Law Product Description 2010 Grand Prize, The Eric Hoffer Book Awards 2010 Silver Medal, Finance, Investment, Economics Category, Independent Publisher Book Awards. The present debate raging over global warming exemplifies the clash between two competing public theologies. On one side, environmentalists warn of certain catastrophe if we do not take steps now to reduce the release of greenhouse gases; on the other side, economists are concerned with whether the benefits of actions to prevent higher temperatures will be worth the high costs. Questions of the true and proper relationship of human beings and nature are as old as religion. Today, environmentalists regard human actions to warm the climate as an immoral challenge to the natural order, while economists seek to put all of nature to maximum use for economic growth and other human benefits. Robert Nelson interprets such contemporary struggles as battles between the competing secularized religions of economics and environmentalism. The outcome will have momentous consequences for us all. This deep book probes beneath the surface of the two movements rhetoric to uncover their fundamental theological commitments and visions. The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion Versus Environmental Religion in Contemporary America