Paul Johnson

Dialogue" is one of American religion's shopworn terms. Although there is much talk about dialogue, very little of it actually takes place. Religious discourse especially about politics and public affairs - is increas-ingly polarized: there is much contestation, but little conversation. If truths are to be tested, however, there is no substitute for dialogue.

Arising out of conferences sponsored by the Center on Religion & Society In New York City, the Encounter Series presents the dialogue of a diverse group of theologians, ethicists, philosophers, and public policy experts from across the political and religious spectrum. The subjects under dis-cussion are as varied as evangelical political theory. Jews in unsecular America. the renascence of religion in the public arena, church-state conflict. the changing mission of the Black Church, and the idea of virtue in the modern world. Each volume includes not only the essays presented at the conference, but also a lively narrative of the subsequent discussion, which allows the reader to experience more fully the actual give-and-take of genuine dialogue.