Religion In American Public Life

Introduction: Religion's Role in American Public Life -- Religion and the Constitution : Historical Origins -- Religion and the Constitution : Some Key Concepts and Cases -- Faith and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue : The Role of Religion in the White House -- Religion, Policy, and Politics : Barring Religious Texts--Protecting Rights to Engage in Policy and Politics -- Religious Expression on Government Property : Prohibiting Government Speech Endorsing Religion--Protecting Nongovernmental Religious Speech -- Government Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations : Creating Partnerships to Serve People in Need -- Faith and Federal Funds : Supporting Secular, Not Religious, Activities -- Religious Exemptions and Accommodations : Balancing Claims of Conscience with Other Interests -- Faith and the Workplace : Respecting Religious Freedom in Employment -- Religious Discrimination and Hate Crimes : Fighting Hatred and Bias--Protecting Freedom and Pluralism -- Conclusion: A Crossroads for Faith in American Public Life.

A thought-provoking discussion of the public and political expression of America's diverse religious beliefs.

"We are," said Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, "a religious people," and his observation is continually borne out in every aspect of American public life. Religious ideals underlay the founding of the colonies and the firming of the new nation; the activities of churches have been closely interwined with politics in the abolition of slavery, the drive for women's suffrage, the prohibition of liquor,and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The recent revival of arguments over the participation of relgious groups in politics points up the continuing controversey about the separation of church and state. In this study, A. James Reichley places religion and politics within a conceptual framework that considers the values in which both are rooted and examines, in light of that framework, the actual impact of religion and religious groups on American public life. He analyzes the underlying causes and issues involved, their contemporary impact, and their continuing evolution. Finally he discusses how the involvement of religious groups in politics can be carried on within the context of the separation of church and state without threat to civil liberties or seculat politicalization of religion.

"This book puts forward the most sophisticated and subtle treatment available on the relation between religion and politics and church (synagogue, mosque, temple) and state. Thiemann has taken our impoverished discourse on these matters to new heights and higher ground." --Cornel West. [from back cover.]

In this book, Linell Cady analyzes the role of religion and theology in American public life.

About religion and politics in the United States after 1945.

Religion has been deeply embedded in the history and culture of the United States since its birth. The last 20 years have seen a revival of religion which some have styled the Fourth Great Awakening. This latest turn to religion has uncovered and sharply defined a cultural paradox that has been evident for some time. Large numbers of Americans are deeply religious in their personal lives, yet American public life is largely empty of religious content and often hostile to religion, resulting in a fascinating and puzzling contradiction. This contradiction between secular public and religious private life is the focus of Choosing the Dream. One consequence of the conflict between public secularism and privatized religion has been deep frustration and alienation of religious people from the institutions and processes of American public life, creating at least the potential for religious revolution. Given the historically pragmatic nature of American democracy, however, the authors argue that it is likely that public life will adjust to the demands of those religious people and institutions who feel excluded, accommodating them to a legitimate role in public life. Gedicks and Hendrix explain why and how this will happen, outlining new understandings of knowledge, truth, history, and religion that will challenge believers and secularists alike. They contend that, in the end, the admission of religion as an equal participant in public life will bring America closer to realizing its full potential as a nation. This thoughtful and sophisticated academic work is written in a language that will be accessible to general audiences as well.

If the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects religious liberty, why doesn’t it protect atheists? God occupies our nation’s consciousness, even defining to many what it means to be American. Nonbelievers have often had second-class legal status and have had to fight for their rights as citizens. As R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick demonstrate in their sharp and convincing work, avowed atheists were derided since the founding of the nation. Even Thomas Paine fell into disfavor and his role as a patriot forgotten. Popular Republican Robert Ingersoll could not be elected in the nineteenth century due to his atheism, and the suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton was shunned when she questioned biblical precepts about women’s roles. Moore and Kramnick lay out this fascinating history and the legal cases that have questioned religious supremacy. It took until 1961 for the Supreme Court to ban religious tests for state officials, despite Article 6 of the Constitution. Still, every one of the fifty states continues to have God in its constitution. The authors discuss these cases and more current ones, such as Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which address whether personal religious beliefs supersede secular ones. In Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic, the authors also explore the dramatic rise of an "atheist awakening" and the role of organizations intent on holding the country to the secular principles it was founded upon.