Description
Book SynopsisGoing Low examines how the offensive style of contemporary politics challenges liberal democratic institutions. Considering the rise of illiberal politics and debates about the limits of free speech, Finbarr Curtis draws on the insights of religious studies to rethink provocation and transgression.
Trade ReviewThis is a timely explanation of current political realities in the U.S. -- Halie Kerns * Library Journal *
Going Low’s compellingly written and skillfully argued insights into the relationship between illiberal secularism and discourses of offense offer scholars essential tools to make sense of the US political landscape, challenging us to rethink relationships between religion and politics in the US. * American Religion *
This marvelous and surprising book offers the first satisfying account of why offense is an essential idiom of secular politics. Political scientists, pundits, and scholars of religion alike will learn from what Curtis discovers when he digs with gusto into the significant power of profanation. -- Kathryn Lofton, author of
Consuming ReligionGoing Low is a wide-ranging exploration of today's political culture deploying conceptual tools from religious studies scholarship. There's something distinctive about how political discourse works in the Trump era—from right, left, and center—and this book limns this new landscape. -- Vincent W. Lloyd, author of
In Defense of CharismaFinbarr Curtis's book is bold, analytically curious, and it makes a pressing argument about the mechanics and fragility of the contemporary American order.
Going Low is a book that punches you in the gut with its argument about the secular age gone bad and getting worse. Curtis's account of the Trump phenomenon is the one that makes the most sense of a volatile moment that remains resistant to pedestrian hot-takes or 'serious' analyses of political economy. -- John Lardas Modern, author of
Secularism in Antebellum AmericaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Reality of Donald J. Trump
2. Steve Bannon and the Clash of Civilizations
3. Cartoons and Guns
4. Christian Values and the White Evangelical
5.
Masterpiece Cakeshop and the Art of Religious Freedom
6. NFL Protests and the Profane Rites of Something
7. Fear and Safety on Campus
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
