Author's Response

I am humbled to have had such close and perceptive readings of a book that I had always imagined as successful if it convened further conversation. My interlocutors in this symposium are people whose work and example I admire deeply, and readers are encouraged to take note of their contributions to the conversation beyond these pages. Would that I could respond comprehensively to each query and comment; in the interest of concision, I have organized my response around a series of points of convergence and trajectories for new inquiry. Readers may appreciate a brief initial statement from me about the shape of the book. Here is how I begin Defend the Sacred: