City of Dignity: Christianity, Liberalism, and the Making of Global Los Angeles

City of Dignity explores how liberal Protestants, and other religious organizations, shaped the progressive ethics of postwar Los Angeles, promoting human dignity and advocating for refugees and the homeless.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 20 December 2022
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Contemporary Los Angeles is often celebrated as a bastion of progressive secular politics, a city that values immigration, equity, diversity, and human rights. However, the question arises as to why this city has embraced such staunchly liberal values, which are more contested in other parts of the country. Sean Dempsey, in his book "City of Dignity," reveals that the answer lies not with the usual suspects, such as Democrats in Hollywood, but with liberal Protestants and other religious organizations that emerged during the postwar era.

As the Religious Right movement gained momentum in the 1970s, progressive religious activists began quietly promoting an ethical vision that had a profound impact in its place of origin: metropolitan Los Angeles. At the heart of this vision was the concept of human dignity, which interconnected the importance of political and expressive freedom with the moral sanctity of the human condition. This concept permeated all the political values that emerged from it, including tolerance, diversity, and equality of opportunity.

The work of these religious organizations led to the birth of remarkable phenomena such as the Sanctuary Movement, which provided safe haven for refugees fleeing conflict-torn Central America. They also advocated for the homeless, a pressing issue that became increasingly fraught in the era of neoliberalism and conservatism.

City of Dignity delves into how these interwoven spiritual and theological strands found common ground and made common impacts in the humanitarian ecosystem of one of America's largest and most dynamic metro areas. It sheds light on the ways in which religious organizations have played a crucial role in shaping the social and political landscape of Los Angeles, contributing to its reputation as a beacon of progressivism and compassion.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226823768