Revisiting the Naked Public Square

It's not available online yet, but try to secure a hard copy of the new First Things, which features a symposium marking the 20th anniversary of the publication of Richard John Neuhaus' The Naked Public Square. Among the many noteworthy contributions, a couple stand out in light of the discussions we've had regarding the collectivization of religiously driven moral norms. Stanley Hauerwas notes his fondness for the book despite the fact that it "has little time for 'sectarians' who have allegedly given up on the public square." Indeed, Hauerwas observes that he and his ilk would seem to favor the public square's nakedness, for they "get to say you never should have trusted the world to underwrite your faith in the first place." Hauerwas also declines to accept Neuhaus' compliment that sectarians are a "needed corrective" to "the spineless acquiescence of mainline Protestantism." Sectarians, Hauerwas reminds us, "do not think of ourselves as a 'corrective.' We think what we say about what it means to be a follower of Jesus is true and, therefore, not simply a reminder to those who responsibly get their hands dirty."

On a related line, David Novak applauds the book, but expresses concern with Neuhaus'

growing nationalism, especially his recent tendency to employ the theological concept of election to describe the United States of America as "an almost chosen people." The public morality advocated by the American government, especially by President George W. Bush and his administration, might well put America in the forefront of both the local and international struggle for authentic human rights. Nevertheless, "chosenness" is the preserve of those peoples, like the Jewish people and the Christian Church, who see themselves as having been elected by God. There is a fundamental difference between a community whose immediate warrant comes from a transcendent source ("I am the Lord your God") and a nation whose immediate warrant comes from an interhuman agreement ("We the people of the United States").

As the symposium richly reflects, there is certainly no uniform "Christian" take on the relationship between faith and our common life. There is, however, welcome agreement that the relationship merits continuing exploration.

Rob