No Separation: Christians, Secular Democracy, and Sex

"In this book Viefhues-Bailey argues that political Christianities in the form of secularized "cultural religion," rather than retrieving past historical models, both emerge from and effect (affect] how the state regulates its citizenry. He identifies three forms of political Christianity--that democracy requires a shared Christian cultural foundation (Germany), that "the People" are united through correctly ordered reproductive policy (France), and that civic belonging is defined and mobilized through the affects of antagonism and enmity (United States). He evaluates how these forms function in three concrete conflicts stirred up by religion in secular European and American public squares--legal arbitration of Muslim veiling in Germany, same-sex marriage in France, and abortion in the United States--demonstrating how in each case they betray a deep xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, and racialized nationalism. The cumulative argument exposes the illiberal foundations of contemporary secular democracies, which police their citizens not through shared liberal values or processes but through complex, unacknowledged webs of influence. The book also charts a way out of the crisis of democracy brought about by the authoritarian populisms they engender: since religion is inextricably bound to politics, citizens need to adopt the idea of communities of care at the core of their democratic conception so that more compassionate forms of Christianity can become central"--
Powerful illiberal Christian movements have upended liberal democracies in countries that were once seen as paradigms of secular governance. Ludger H. Viefhues-Bailey offers new insight into the foundations of these movements, demonstrating how they emerge from the contradictions at the intersection of secularism and democracy.
Through a potent mix of authoritarianism, heterosexism, xenophobia, and ethnoracial nationalism, powerful illiberal Christian movements have upended liberal democracies in countries that were once seen as paradigms of secular governance. Ludger H. Viefhues-Bailey offers new insight into the foundations of these movements, demonstrating how they emerge from the contradictions at the intersection of secularism and democracy.No Separation examines recent conflicts that link national identity, religion, and sexuality: debates over Muslim veiling practices in Germany, same-sex marriage in France, and migration and abortion in the United States. In each case, illiberal Christianities portray popular sovereignty as threatened at the same time as they display an obsessive concern with the politics of sex and reproduction. Underlying these conflicts, No Separation shows, is the fundamental tension of democracy—who belongs to “the People.” Viefhues-Bailey argues that when secularism and democracy meet, cultural religions appear, seeking control over women’s bodies, national borders, and the racialized reproduction of the People in defense of the ideal of popular sovereignty.Connecting political theology, political philosophy, and the sociology of religion with gender and sexuality studies, No Separation is a deeply original analysis of the crisis of democracy and the limits of secularism. It also suggests alternative ways of imagining the People, proposing a more humane vision of borders, sexualities, and social bonds.