This work owes a substantial debt to Protestants for the Common Good, a Chicago-based organization of clergy and laity who seek better to articulate and pursue politics as a Christian vocation. Begun in 1995 in response to perceived injustices in our contemporary public life and the perceived failures of Protestant Christianity to address them adequately, this group has offered me the occasion to reflect on the relation of Christian faith and democracy today. More importantly, the venture has provided a company of Christians whose practical wisdom and commitment to justice have advanced my education. Without the benefit received from their deliberations, including their critical consideration of some things said here, this work would be much the worse. Nothing said here speaks for that organization or any other member of it, and some of my friends there will find ample room for disagreement. But I am deeply grateful for the community Protestants for the Common Good has given me.

I am also indebted to academic colleagues and friends who favored my requests for their help and were generous with their critical proposals for revision: Philip E. Devenish, Larry L. Greenfield, Margaret M. Mitchell, Schubert M. Ogden, and Alexander F. Vishio. In addition, extensive reviews and suggestions were offered by three anonymous readers for Cambridge University Press, all of whom have significantly altered the work.