Overview

This book provides a new and original approach to the Western tradition, its foundations, and the implications of its particular development for understanding the contemporary world. Arguing that with the creation of writing in the Axial Age, tradition took a ‘theological’ form that placed emphasis on rationality and abstraction at the expense of ‘piety,’ which emerges from immediate experience and wonder. Exploring the development of the West and its culture through the dance between theology and piety, with theology always leading, the authors consider the contemporary ascendancy of theology in the dominance of universities and the decline of poetry, shedding light on the reflection of this tension in contemporary politics. An examination of interplay of conflicting tendencies in Western civilisation – and the need for balance – Understanding Piety and Theology in the Culture of the West will appeal to scholars with interests in social theory, historical sociology, and cultural studies.

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9780367742645

Table of Contents

Reviews

“This a special book: it is one of those rare books that has a decent chance of being received as a “modern classic”. It is beautifully written. It wears its deep scholarship lightly. Its discussions are evocative and memorable. Its approach is fresh and inventive. Its exhibits a delightful manner of playful seriousness. It is succinct yet rich and nuanced.” Peter Murphy, co-editor of the Morality, Society and Culture book series

“This a special book: it is one of those rare books that has a decent chance of being received as a “modern classic”. It is beautifully written. It wears its deep scholarship lightly. Its discussions are evocative and memorable. Its approach is fresh and inventive. It exhibits a delightful manner of playful seriousness. It is succinct yet rich and nuanced.” Peter Murphy, co-editor of the Morality, Society and Culture book series

Author Information

Gregory Melleuish is Honorary Fellow at Campion College, Australia. He was formerly Professor of History and Politics at the University of Wollongong. He is the author of Is the West Special? World History and Western Civilisation, Australian Intellectuals: Their Strange History and Pathological Tendencies, Cultural Liberalism in Australia and The Power of Ideas: Essays on Australian History and Politics. He is the co-author of G. R. G. Menzies: The Last Puritan: The World Picture of Australia’s Longest Serving Prime Minister. Susanna G. Rizzo is Associate Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

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