Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents - Hardcover

"[Buruma] writes intimately about the relationship between politics and faith in Britain, the Netherlands, France, China, Japan and the United States. And beneath every cliché--about American religious fervor, French intolerance or Japanese godlessness--he uncovers ironies that wreak havoc with popular stereotypes. . . . Taming the Gods is an admirably learned book. Buruma's writing is spare and careful, and one never feels that he is stretching his material to fit some all-encompassing theory. . . . Ultimately, Buruma's message is that people should respect other faiths while insisting that the faithful not violate democracy's rules of the game. And in the skeptical, informed, affectionate tone he adopts toward the countries he chronicles, his book exemplifies that spirit."--Peter Beinart, New York Times Book Review

"Ian Buruma's study of the relationship between religion and democracy in America, Asia and Europe does not allude to Todorov's magisterial work . . . but it deserves a place next to Todorov on the bookshelf. . . . Buruma seeks to chart a path through the swamps and thickets of competing religious values and cultural identities. . . . This is a useful contribution to what is becoming one of Europe's most urgent debates."--Malise Ruthven, Times Literary Supplement

"By examining the history of church/state relations in the U.S. and Europe, the role of religion in the politics of China and Japan, and the growing role of Islam in contemporary Europe, Buruma makes 'an attempt to sort out, in different cultures, how democracies have been affected . . . by these tensions [between religious and secular authorities].' One of his most provocative investigations involves secular, liberal Europeans, some of whom now find common ground with conservatives in their opposition to Islam."--Publishers Weekly

"Buruma examines the role that religion plays in the modern state, a subject that has been so belabored . . . that it requires all of Buruma's essayistic skill to condense these debates into a compact work. That he succeeds says much about his talent for unwinding complex topics, as well as for approaching overly familiar discussions in unfamiliar new ways. . . . Buruma's comparative approach demonstrates, in the kind of sober voice that is all too often drummed out by political hysteria, that it is in the interest of both politics and religion to keep to their respective realms."--Ben Moser, Harper's Magazine

"A new book by the insightful and eclectic writer Ian Buruma delves into the complicated part that religions play both in the turbulence and in reactions to it. . . . It's a fun book that skips from Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry to Tocqueville, from Spinoza to Matteo Ricci, an early Jesuit missionary to China, and from Thomas Jefferson to Salman Rushdie."--Katherine Marshall, Washington Post "On Faith"
"Because of Buruma's clarity and temperance, [Taming the Gods is] a most informative primer on systems of church-state rapprochement in the modern era."--Ray Olson, Booklist

"A contrary history, which depicts the long struggle between faith and liberty issuing finally into a shared civic religion more elevated and esteemed than those based on terrestrial convictions alone."--David Wallace-Wells, BookForum

"Buruma's cosmopolitan and historical perspective and his sense of complexity distinguish Taming the Gods from much other writing on religion and politics. . . . Concrete detail, historical perspective, and practical wisdom. His major target turns out not to be the irrationality of religion but the irrationality of the political and social debate, especially in Europe, surrounding religion. The word that sums up his concern in his concluding essay is 'hysteria'--not a god or goddess but more than anything else what his book is attempting to tame."--Peter Steinfels, American Prospect

"[Taming the Gods] argues that the intrusion of religion into politics threatens democracy in the U.S., in Europe, and--more surprisingly--in China and Japan."--Josh Lambert, Tablet Magazine

"Buruma's short book is useful as a reminder of how religion has played an influential role in various nations at various times, and how support of Enlightenment values can suddenly evaporate when people are confronted by new circumstances (such as the 'rise' of Islam in some European countries)."--M. A. Orthofer, The Complete Review

For eight years the president of the United States was a born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide. In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state.

Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work.

Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so many Americans--and so few Europeans--see religion as a help to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war between defenders of "Western values" and "multiculturalists," and explains that the creation of a democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary.

Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that religion and democracy can be compatible--but only if religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart.