Post-ethical society : the Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, and the moral failure of the secular /

The authors begin this book with one question about public morality, then answer another. The stated question is: "Do we need religion?" But the analysis provided by Porpora, Nikolaev, May, and Jenkins (all, Drexel Univ.) answers a slightly different question: Is religion useful in addressing ethically complex public policies such as preemptive war and interrogation techniques? Orienting the analysis in this way has the effect of converting religion into the kind of utilitarian expression of "value" the authors argue is unacceptable. Further, the analysis is not situated in a religious framework, but adopts a critical and unoriginal position regarding the Bush administration's response to 9/11. Nevertheless, the authors' analysis of news media coverage of these policies is insightful. Religiously oriented news organizations and social media were instrumental in injecting much-needed moral considerations into the debate about the decision to go to war in Iraq and the use of torture. Meanwhile, discussions of the moral dimension of modern warfare were nearly nonexistent in the secular press. Readers will also find here a compelling argument that utilitarian concerns have largely replaced ethical imperatives in public policy discourse. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. J. E. Herbel Georgia College and State University