The Forum at 51 Main & the Vermont Book Shop present
In Defense of Civility: A Book Talk
by Associate Professor of Religion James Davis
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
at 5:15 pm at 51 Main
The Vermont Book Shop will sell copies of his book.
James Calvin Davis debunks popular myths of both the political left and the political right in his brisk new book, In Defense of Civility: How Religion Can Unite America on Seven Moral Issues that Divide Us.
By dissecting the so-called impregnable wall between state and religion, Davis demonstrates how religion persists as a strong element on both sides of political debate, how we can recognize and understand it, and why we need more of it.
Americans in the middle aren’t given good opportunities in which to clearly voice their beliefs. Davis’s book concisely explores this “muddled middle” and how religion can and already does play a key role. In Davis’s point-by-point discussion of such hot-button issues as abortion and gay marriage, Davis shows readers how to articulate complex moral and social issues in an increasingly complex world. Davis also gives readers ways to talk with one another without degrading the conversation.