Surprise! "Uneasy Citizenship" is now available
A book release more than five years in the making
The term “uneasy citizenship” first came to me in January 2019, during a retreat with the American Enterprise Institute’s Initiative on Faith and Public Life. I was in a session with political scientist Patrick Deneen, who was discussing his surprise bestseller Why Liberalism Failed.1
In listening to Deneen’s criticism of the liberal political order—basically, that it has become a victim of its own successes—I scrawled “uneasy citizenship” in my notebook.2 I’m not entirely sure why it came to me in that moment, but I imagine it had something to do with my reaction to Deneen’s comments — namely, my conviction that Christians can acknowledge the challenges of our existing political moment without deeming it necessary to overhaul our systems or start over from scratch. What’s more, these challenges might afford Christians certain opportunities to build and advance the Kingdom unavailable in a supposedly more friendly cultural environment.
Put differently, Christians should hold our citizenship on earth—and in our nation—uneasily, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold it at all.
Today, more than five years later, I am thrilled to announce that Uneasy Citizenship: Embracing the Tension in Faith and Politics—the book that emerged from those initial, scattered thoughts—is officially published and available to order.
Here is what some people are saying about it:
“From the rise of partisan politics to more recent debates on liberalism, Uneasy Citizenship charts a map to help us understand how we got here and offers helpful suggestions about where we ought to go next, especially the vitally important call to invest in our fragile institutions.”3
“An invitation for Christians to think deeply about their political lives—and live faithfully in challenging times. This is a book for churches and families to read and discuss together.”4
“A tremendous, nuanced resource…. This book is a gift to Christians and to the broader public.”5
So, what’s next? I’m asking you to do three things:
Order the book. Easy enough, right? You can get it directly from my publisher (Cascade Books) and Amazon, among other places.
Review the book on Amazon, or Goodreads, or wherever — the more people review it, the more likely The Algorithm will help other people find it.
Share the book with a friend, neighbor, pastor, small group, or whomever you think would benefit from an honest and hopeful appraisal of how Christians can faithfully engage in this political moment.
I’ve never been one to advertise for myself, but in order for Uneasy Citizenship to reach as many people as possible I’m learning to get over my discomfort. I hope you’ll help me out.
I’ll have plenty more to say about the book over the next few weeks and months, especially with November’s elections fast approaching. And it probably goes without saying, but I’d love to connect with small groups, churches, colleges, and other communities to talk about the book in the months ahead — feel free to reach out at dbennett [at] jbu [dot] edu, or send me a message by clicking the button below.
Even though Uneasy Citizenship is coming out in the middle of an election year, I didn’t write the book to be a guide for navigating election season. I wrote it to encourage and equip readers as they seek to faithfully engage in political action and decision making, from voting for candidates to simply thinking about the issues of the day. After all, politics encompasses far more than what we do in any given election; for Christians, politics is essential to how we seek the good of our neighbors, community, and nation.
Too often we make politics too small and too narrow, letting day-to-day political battles limit how we think about the possibility of politics in our lives. In reading this book, I hope you’ll reconsider the ways in which Christians can do politics in a more holistic and Kingdom-oriented way.
Unlike most books published at university presses, Deneen’s book garnered attention in the pages of The New York Times and even landed on the list of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year.
I have tried to locate this notebook, but so far have been unsuccessful.
Curtis Chang, Redeeming Babel
Kaitlyn Schiess, The Ballot and the Bible
Michael Wear, Center for Christianity and Public Life