Diversity Conformity And Conscience In Contemporary America

America is a nation that celebrates diversity and freedom of conscience. Yet, as Alexis de Tocqueville observed, democratic times often demand conformity. Nowadays, conformity might be enforced in the name of diversity itself, and go so far as to infringe on the rights of conscience, expression, association, and religious freedom. Americans have recently been confronted by this paradox in various ways, from federal health care mandates, to campus speech codes, to consumer boycotts, to public intimidation, to vexatious litigation, to private corporations dismissing employees for expressing certain political views. In this book, Bradley C. S. Watson brings together leading thinkers from a variety of disciplines to examine the manner and extent to which conformity is demanded by contemporary American law and social practice. Contributors also consider the long-term results of such demands for conformity for the health—and even survival—of a constitutional republic.

"Character in the American Experience: An Unruly People tells the story of the American character, from its earliest beginnings to the present day. Bruce P. Frohnen and Ted V. McAllister detail how great events and daily life have both shaped and been shaped by a people committed to order and independence, community and conflict, as well as the triumphs and tragedies American unruliness produced"--

An insightful rethinking of the meaning of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom. The Founders understood religious liberty to be an inalienable natural right. Vincent Phillip Muñoz explains what this means for church-state constitutional law, uncovering what we can and cannot determine about the original meanings of the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses and constructing a natural rights jurisprudence of religious liberty. Drawing on early state constitutions, declarations of religious freedom, Founding-era debates, and the First Amendment’s drafting record, Muñoz demonstrates that adherence to the Founders’ political philosophy would lead neither to consistently conservative nor consistently liberal results. Rather, adopting the Founders’ understanding would lead to a minimalist church-state jurisprudence that, in most cases, would return authority from the judiciary to the American people. Thorough and convincing, Religious Liberty and the American Founding is key reading for those seeking to understand the Founders’ political philosophy of religious freedom and the First Amendment Religion Clauses.

Focusing on a variety of topics, from the violence of war and the struggle for civil rights to the social impact of technology and the moral significance of money, this colorfully illustrated guide to American literature from the postwar period to the present day has been expanded and fully updated. A new section titled "Into the Future" contains a discussion of the best young writers of recent years. A concise, engaging guide to American contemporary literature, this volume provides information on 21st-century writers; the 1950s, '60s, and beyond; contemporary American poetry; and the postmodern movement. Topics include: Post-World War II and Vietnam War literature New Journalism Beat literature and existentialism The rise of ethnic and minority literature The civil rights movement Postmodernism Confessional poetry and poetry of witness Millennial voices in fiction And more. Writers covered include: Raymond Carver Sandra Cisneros Ralph Ellison Robert Frost Norman Mailer N. Scott Momaday Toni Morrison Sylvia Plath Thomas Pynchon Adrienne Rich J.D. Salinger Kurt Vonnegut Tom Wolfe And many others.

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Perhaps the best-kept secret in the publishing industry is that many publishers--both periodical publishers and book publishers--make available writer's guidelines to assist would-be contributors. Written by the staff at each publishing house, these guidelines help writers target their submissions to the exact needs of the individual publisher. ""The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines"" is a compilation of the actual writer's guidelines for more than 1,700 publishers. A one-of-a-kind source to browse for article, short story, poetry and book ideas.

This collection of original essays by the nation's leading political theorists examines the origins of modernity, and considers the question of tolerance as a product of early modern religious skepticism. Rather than approaching the problem with a purely historical lens, the authors actively demonstrate the significance of these issues to contemporary debates in political philosophy and public policy. The contributors to Early Modern Skepticism raise and address questions of the utmost significance: Is religious faith necessary for ethical behavior? Is skepticism a fruitful ground from which to argue for toleration? This book will be of interest to historians, philosophers, religious scholars, and political theorists -- anyone concerned about the tensions between private beliefs and public behavior.

Drawing together a number of case studies from diverse parts of Europe, Living with Religious Diversity in Early Modern Europe explores the processes involved with groups of differing religious confessions living together - sometimes grudgingly, but ofte