Since its founding, the United States of America has been influenced by individuals of faith and their public expressions of religion. From the nation's birth, both religion and secularism have played significant roles in the development of the nation's society, culture, and politics. Today, there appears to be a culture war between two main competing groups of ideologies driven by either a conservative or a progressive leaning worldview that ultimately manifests itself in the Republican or Democrat party platforms. This work is an attempt to challenge the presuppositions, biases, ideologies, and worldviews of both the author and the reader, with particular attention to discussing exactly what kind of nation the United States was founded as and what kind of nation it has become. At its core, this work challenges the notions that the nation is either a Christian or a secular nation. The two extreme voices and opposing interpretations of history in today's society that are specifically challenged are conservative Protestant evangelicals and secular progressives. This thesis takes a look at the influence and roles of religion during the founding era and focuses on how the concept of the separation of church and state was designed to impact public American culture. The common civil, or public, religious expression that permeates society is discussed as an answer to the Christian or secular nation debate. The ultimate goal is to seek an understanding and peace between warring interpretations so that compromise may lead the United States of America towards the best solutions for its current and future policies.

First Amendment rights have been among the most fiercely debated topics in the aftermath of 9/11. In the current environment and fervor for “homeland security,” personal freedoms in exchange for security are coming under more scrutiny. Among these guaranteed freedoms are the protection of religious expression given by the U.S. Constitution and the constitutional prohibitions against behaviors that violate the separation of church and state. The mandate that the government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is a general principle that has guided American courts in interpreting the original intent of the First Amendment. In Religious Expression and the American Constitution, Haiman focuses on the current state of American law with respect to a broad range of controversial issues affecting religious expression, both verbal and nonverbal, along with a review of the recent history of each issue to provide a full understanding.

Writing in the New York Times Magazine, Max Frankel characterized Unsecular Media as a book that "leaves you thinking about the saintly role that religion has acquired in our allegedly irreligious media." Mark Silk's book is the first to offer a comprehensive description and analysis of how American news media cover religion.

Polls through the '90s show that many Americans believe the nation is in a period of spiritual decline, yet public religious display and discussion often is deemed politically incorrect. Philosopher John K. Roth feels that more outward sharing of religious beliefs, thoughts, and ideas would bridge the gap between our private needs and our public selves--and would give Americans of differing faiths a common identity.

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

What is public religion? How does it manifest the sacred? Wuthnow states that cultural expressions, religious or otherwise, do not simply happen but are produced. He considers the major organizational forms that produce public religion, shows how they shape public religion's messages, and reveals the implicit and unintended ways in which the sacred is expressed in modern society.