Pulpit & Politics - Dennis Gruending

Competing Religious Ideologies in Canadian Public Life

In Pulpit and Politics, author and former MP Dennis Gruending examines the competition between religious progressives and conservatives for power and influence in Canadian public life. Gruending looks closely at the political ideology and tactics employed by religious conservatives in the public arena, and he also documents the efforts by religious progressives struggling to have their voices heard on issues of equality, environment, human rights, justice, and peace. Ever with an eye on history and world events, Gruending follows this contest between progressives and conservatives from Parliament Hill to the church basements, synagogues, temples, and universities of the nation and abroad.

"Dennis Gruending brings both insight and hands-on experience to that fraught crossroads where faith and politics intersect, helping to trace not only the rise of a Canadian religious right but also the first stirrings of a reawakened religious left. His collected contemplations in Pulpit and Politics are a must-read for anyone who wishes to grasp the spiritual tensions at play behind Stephen Harper's majority government." - Marci McDonald, journalist and author of The Armageddon Factor

"Dennis Gruending's well informed observations on the role of faith in politics, and the politics of faith, are an insightful guide to the current political landscape." - Rev. Bill Blaikie, Manitoba government cabinet minister and former MP

"Faith communities that espouse a social compunction to serve must constantly reflect on the political dimension of loving our neighbours. Dennis Gruending not only lends his considerable journalistic talents to this task; he's focused like a laser on the analytical heart of today's burning issues. - Joe Gunn, executive director, Citizens for Public Justice.
Based in Ottawa, Gruending has watched this drama unfold and has participated in it: as a journalist, a director of information for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and later as a Member of Parliament. Earlier in his career, he worked as a print and television journalist and as a radio host. He is the author of six books, including the best selling Great Canadian Speeches. He has written biographies of Emmett Hall, whose Royal Commission recommended medicare for Canada, and of former Saskatchewan premier Allan Blakeney. Gruending writes a blog, also called Pulpit and Politics, which has won several national awards. It can be found at:

www.dennisgruending.ca/pulpitandpolitics/

978-1-926832-07-4   paperback    256 pgs,            $22.00