Politicians line up to write about religion
-11/08/05
Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is writing a book about religion and international politics. ‘The Mighty and the Almighty: God and Religion in American Foreign Policy’ will be published in spring 2006, say publishers Harper Collins. They promise that it will be a “very provocative” and personal analysis of the subject.
Ms Albright, who was born in Prague in 1937, served in the American government from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. In her 2003 memoir, Albright wrote about how she learned in 1997 that she was Jewish and that her grandparents perished in the Holocaust. Her family fled first the Nazis then the Russians in Czechoslovakia, settling in the United States.
“Secretary Albright’s thoughts on the complexities of foreign policy in an age of religious extremism are required reading: bold, frank, clearly argued, and informed by experience,” Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president at Harper Collins told journalists this week.
He continued: “She’ll offer a sharp critique of US policy, condemnation for those who exploit religious fervour for violent ends, and praise for political, cultural, and spiritual leaders who seek to harness the values of faith to bring people together.”
Albright is not the only senior political figure to show a literary interest in matters spiritual. UK Liberal Democrat peer and former Labour minister Shirley Williams published God and Caesar: Personal Reflections on Politics and Religion last year. It has recently appeared in paperback.
Williams examines the relationship between Christian teaching, the Church and public life in the modern world. She discusses religious and ethical considerations relevant to the struggle against terrorism, and sets out the basis of an international legal and moral order which alone, she claims, can settle global conflicts and constitute the basis for a lasting peace.
Prime minister Tony Blair is also reputed to be interested in exploring the contribution of faith to political processes when he finally leaves Number 10 Downing Street. But, despite rumours, there is no firm indication about when that might be.
Politicians line up to write about religion
-11/08/05
Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is writing a book about religion and international politics. ‘The Mighty and the Almighty: God and Religion in American Foreign Policy’ will be published in spring 2006, say publishers Harper Collins. They promise that it will be a “very provocative” and personal analysis of the subject.
Ms Albright, who was born in Prague in 1937, served in the American government from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. In her 2003 memoir, Albright wrote about how she learned in 1997 that she was Jewish and that her grandparents perished in the Holocaust. Her family fled first the Nazis then the Russians in Czechoslovakia, settling in the United States.
“Secretary Albright’s thoughts on the complexities of foreign policy in an age of religious extremism are required reading: bold, frank, clearly argued, and informed by experience,” Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president at Harper Collins told journalists this week.
He continued: “She’ll offer a sharp critique of US policy, condemnation for those who exploit religious fervour for violent ends, and praise for political, cultural, and spiritual leaders who seek to harness the values of faith to bring people together.”
Albright is not the only senior political figure to show a literary interest in matters spiritual. UK Liberal Democrat peer and former Labour minister Shirley Williams published God and Caesar: Personal Reflections on Politics and Religion last year. It has recently appeared in paperback.
Williams examines the relationship between Christian teaching, the Church and public life in the modern world. She discusses religious and ethical considerations relevant to the struggle against terrorism, and sets out the basis of an international legal and moral order which alone, she claims, can settle global conflicts and constitute the basis for a lasting peace.
Prime minister Tony Blair is also reputed to be interested in exploring the contribution of faith to political processes when he finally leaves Number 10 Downing Street. But, despite rumours, there is no firm indication about when that might be.