As If God Existed: Religion and Liberty in the History of Italy

by Maurizio Viroli

Religion and liberty are often thought to be mutual enemies: if religion has a natural ally, it is authoritarianism--not republicanism or democracy. But in this book, Maurizio Viroli, a leading historian of republican political thought, challenges this conventional wisdom. He argues that political emancipation and the defense of political liberty have always required the self-sacrifice of people with religious sentiments and a religious devotion...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691142351
• ISBN13: 9780691142357
• Release Date: September 2012
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"