Interview with Kenneth R. Himes on Christianity and the political order: Conflict, cooptation, and cooperation, by Kenneth R. Himes

Abstract

Beyond electoral campaigns and government structures, the relationship between the political realm and Christianity has always involved the important questions of how we ought to live together, and how we should organize and govern our common life. Himes notes that politics - and the political choices we make - must be "guided by considerations of national and global justice and peace and, for Christians, by the teachings of Jesus," as interpreted by tradition. Himes examines the relationship between Christianity and politics from the teachings of the Old and New Testaments through the patristic and medieval eras and the age of reform to the age of revolution, and through the twentieth century into the third millennium. He addresses questions of the role of the church in politics, responsible voting, concerns of globalization, and issues of human rights and war and peace.