The State and Prophetic Religion

Niebuhr’s account of prophetic religion illumines the struggle of interests within a contested political order and thus exposes the naivety of a simple politics of love. In its suspicion of powerful interests, genuine prophetic religion shares much with Marx. His prophetic stance supports a multiplicity of powers, in sharp contrast with champions of strong state sovereignty such as Hobbes and Schmitt on the one side and libertarians on the other. For Niebuhr, then, politics is an ongoing struggle for justice that requires the development of a political agency that is both bold and wise.