Harvey Cox and E.J. Dionne, two luminaries of American progressive Christianity, will be discussing Cox’s The Future of Faith tonight at WNYC’s Greene Space in lower Manhattan:
Cox posits that Christianity is undergoing a third period of transformation marked by a disregard of dogma in favor of a more open “spirituality,” and a collapse of barriers between different religions. One of the casualties of this transformation is an historically influential actor in American politics: religious fundamentalism.
Joining Professor Cox will be E.J. Dionne, whose most recent book—Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right—announced the end of the Religious Right’s narrow social agenda, and the rise of more open-minded, social-justice oriented faith movements on both sides of the political aisle. The two will engage in a lively discussion [moderated by Todd Gitlin] on the current and historical role of religion in American politics, and what this ongoing transformation means as current and future administrations struggle with a wide range of foreign and domestic policy challenges.
The event, co-sponsored by the Progressive Book Club and the Center for American Progress, will also be streamed live on Street Prophets. Admission is free and directions to the Greene Space can be found here.