Uncivil Disobedience

This book addresses the need for theological reflection on “uncivil” disobedience. Existing scholarship in the area of theology and politics mostly treats church-state relations theoretically, with studies supporting non-violent resistance and in other ways largely assuming traditional forms of governance and standard means of protest, without paying attention to post-modern political and other philosophies. Recent eruptions of uncivil disobedience, oftentimes involving violence, like we have seen with Antifa, Black Lives Matter protests, the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6th, and in the actions of a variety of other right wing, leftist, and religious groups, all assume new ways of protesting, new forms of organizing, and are often informed by post-modern forms of philosophical support. These new political dynamics present an opportunity for theologians to produce scholarship in response. After establishing philosophical underpinnings related to uncivilly disobedient action, the contributors cover traditional historical and theological responses to political unrest as foundation for considering or evaluating attempts to address theologically present-day manifestations of uncivil disobedience.

“We live in hyper-partisan times with dire consequences to the breakdown in public trust and concomitant political dysfunction and social dislocation we face. Meanwhile serious theological inquiry has been increasingly relegated either as a relic of the past or an inaccessible realm reserved for academic and religious specialists. Does contemporary theology have anything to offer to our current situation of political turmoil? Can it help us understand different modes of political protest, different claims to moral authority, different rationales for resistance and protest? This book answers these questions with a resounding YES. And in so doing, not only shows what can be learned from well-known historical figures and standard teachings and theories, but also and most interestingly, navigates the thickets surrounding the difficult questions about our present forms of political order, power, and mobilization.”

David M. Gides is associate professor of theology at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana.

This book addresses the need for theological reflection on uncivil disobedience. Existing scholarship in theology and politics mostly treats church-state relations theoretically, with studies in non-violent resistance or civil disobedience, or in other ways largely assuming traditional forms of governance and means of protest--all while paying little to no attention to post-modern political philosophies. Recent eruptions of uncivil disobedience, oftentimes involving violence, like we have seen with Antifa, Black Lives Matter protests, the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building, and in the actions of other right-wing, leftist, and religious groups, assume new ways of protesting and new forms of organizing or mobilizing. Additionally, these groups and their activities are often informed by post-modern philosophies. These new political dynamics present an opportunity for theologians to produce scholarship in response. After establishing philosophical underpinnings related to uncivilly disobedient action, the contributors cover traditional historical and theological responses to political unrest as a foundation for considering or evaluating attempts to address theologically present-day manifestations of uncivil disobedience.

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