A generation of young Christians are weary of the political legacy they've inherited and hungry for a better approach.
They're tired of seeing their faith tied to political battles they didn't start, and they're frustrated by the failures of leaders they thought they could trust. Kaitlyn Schiess grew up in this landscape, and understands it from the inside.
Spiritual formation, and particularly a focus on formative practices, are experiencing a renaissance in Christian thinking—but these ideas are not often applied to the political sphere. In The Liturgy of Politics, Schiess shows that the church's politics are shaped by its habits and practices even when it's unaware of them. Schiess insists that the way out of our political morass is first to recognize the formative power of the political forces all around us, and then to recover historic Christian practices that shape us according to the truth of the gospel.
“Kaitlyn writes here as a voice for a new generation, though she reflects on old ideas and old sources—from Plato to the Old Testament prophets to Augustine. With great insight, she describes some of the modern forces that have led us to this moment in our politics, and helps us to understand why evangelical political involvement looks and feels the way it does today.”
- Michael Wear, Chief Strategist and member of the executive team for the AND Campaign and author of Reclaiming Hope, from the foreword
Bonus Content
As we enter into a divisive and difficult election season, we need resources that do more than help the church survive the season, we need resources that remind us who we are, direct our loves back to God and our loyalties to Him and His kingdom, and motivate positive political action in the world.
You can now download three companion resources to The Liturgy of Politics: a discussion guide for small groups or individuals, a set of election season spiritual practices, and a few written prayers.
What People Are Saying
“Well-founded, big-hearted, and wise, this is a book that could make a world of difference.”
— Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well and Fierce Convictions
“The Liturgy of Politics is a much-needed discourse on effective leadership in politics and caring for our culture. I have been following Kaitlyn's important voice for some time now, and I am delighted to have her contribution for our journey toward the New."
— Makoto Fujimura, artist, author of Culture Care and Silence and Beauty
“With biblical grounding, theological depth, and the spiritual urgency of a next-generation leader, Kaitlyn lays the groundwork for a better, more faithful approach to political engagement. After finishing this book, here is the one thing I know for sure: we have not seen the last of Kaitlyn.”
— Sharon Hodde Miller, author of Nice: Why We Love to Be Like and How God Calls Us to More
"If all of us are formed by our practices, and politics is a kind of practice, how then are we as disciples of Jesus Christ being ordered through our political participation to the love of neighbor? That is the important question Kaitlyn Schiess has posed in The Liturgy of Politics. I won't spoil the book by giving you the answers here, but let's just say they're likely to catch you off guard a time or two. And if you take her cross-shaped account to heart, you might even find yourself confronted with a need both for repentance and a vision of hope. I think Schiess's book will be widely read and just as widely appreciated."
— Matthew Arbo, associate professor of theological studies and director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, Oklahoma Baptist University
“This is a clear-eyed look at the forces of spiritual formation inside and outside of church—and the political discipleship that American Christians too often accept without thinking about it. Schiess offers a powerful call to examine hidden assumptions and false idols, and to explore the whole two thousand years of Christian tradition in order to breathe new life into twenty-first-century evangelicalism.”
— Molly Worthen, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author of Apostles of Reason
“It is hard to imagine how this young woman has been able to read so widely and think so profoundly about so much of life. Here you’ll find fresh insight and compelling hope that will renew your labors for the coming of God’s kingdom. Young people, old folks like me, and everyone in between, read this book now!”
— James W. Skillen, author of The Good of Politics and former president of the Center for Public Justice
"What hath the upper room to do with the Oval Office? What does the Spirit have to do with the Senate? In The Liturgy of Politics, Kaitlyn Schiess offers an insightful framework for thinking about these two at-first-glance antagonists. Many evangelicals nowadays seem to be suffering from worldview dissonance—shunning political engagement altogether because it's 'dirty work' or shirking genuine and careful participation because dogmatism and bumper-sticker responses roll off the tongue more easily. Schiess offers a careful and sustained via media that emphasizes the movement, timing, and practices of the church, which instill a vision for gathering community and reforming political participation. With fluent brilliance, Schiess does this by looking to ancient and contemporary voices such as Augustine, Karl Barth, and Jamie Smith. She reminds us that every time we enter that dusty, smelly building with well-worn pews, we throw ourselves at the right way to move and live and have our being—in shared spaces with our neighbor in the world!"
Kyle David Bennett, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the theology and philosophy department at Caldwell University
"Liturgy is about worship and inner life. Kaitlyn Schiess takes a careful, hard look at how we do our politics and how we should do our politics, viewed from the inside not the outside. The difference is significant, and seeing it may give us a better heart for others. As a result, our politics may change us for the better as we seek to engage a world that needs to see what the gospel looks like in real-life practice."
Darrell L. Bock, senior research professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, author of commentaries on Luke and Ephesians
"Many young evangelicals—weary of politics and the culture wars—have begun to disengage from political life. Tired of the narrow-minded politics of the right and left, these evangelicals long for something more—something beyond ideology and sound bites. Kaitlyn Schiess has answered her generation's call. Drawing on Scripture, history, and contemporary political theology, she offers a robust and accessible political ethic that avoids the old pitfalls of the Christian right and left. She deftly explores how worship and spiritual disciplines can not only liberate evangelicals from destructive political ideologies but actively move them into God's alternative political mission of public justice and shalom."
Matthew Kaemingk, assistant professor of Christian ethics and associate dean, Fuller Theological Seminary
"This is the book I have been waiting for! There could hardly be a more important topic for our cultural moment than the connection between Christian formation and politics. Kaitlyn Schiess persuasively and powerfully argues that Christians are being deeply formed by the political currents in which we swim, although we don't often realize it. She then casts a beautiful biblical and theological vision for intentional Christian formation that, by God's grace, shapes us into disciples who love God as we attend to the life of the world. While giving detailed attention to how and why we practice prayer, Bible reading, worship, Sabbath, and the sacraments, Schiess casts a sweeping and winsome vision of the Christian life, including political engagement and so much more. This book will itself be deeply formative for all who read it. It needs to be read by pastors, youth ministers, worship leaders, small groups, college and seminary students, and all who care about faithful discipleship and formation today."
Kristin Deede Johnson, dean and professor of theology and Christian formation at Western Theological Seminary
"Neighborliness is a skill one must learn. We do not enter the world fully equipped to be faithful citizens or fruitful members of our local communities. Rather, we learn the skills, virtues, and habits that are required for faithful participation in common life over time. Or, too often, we don't learn any of those things, and we set out on the quest to live honorable lives in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, states, and nation radically unprepared for the challenges laid before us. Kaitlyn Schiess's The Liturgy of Politics is a worthy reflection on where mature community members come from and how our churches, schools, and neighborhoods can be shaping such people now. I am happy to commend this fine study to you."
Jake Meador, editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy and author of In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World