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.

Steven K. Green, renowned for his scholarship on the separation of church and state, charts the career of the concept and helps us understand how it has fallen into disfavor with many Americans. In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson distilled a leading idea in the early American republic and wrote of a wall of separation between church and state. That metaphor has come down from Jefferson to twenty-first-century Americans through a long history of jurisprudence, political contestation, and cultural influence. This book traces the development of the concept of separation of church and state and the Supreme Court's application of it in the law. Green finds that conservative criticisms of a separation of church and state overlook the strong historical and jurisprudential pedigree of the idea. Yet, arguing with liberal advocates of the doctrine, he notes that the idea remains fundamentally vague and thus open to loose interpretation in the courts. As such, the history of a wall of separation is more a variable index of American attitudes toward the forces of religion and state. Indeed, Green argues that the Supreme Court's use of the wall metaphor has never been essential to its rulings. The contemporary battle over the idea of a wall of separation has thus been a distraction from the real jurisprudential issues animating the contemporary courts.

"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.

In this important study, Mark Toulouse maps the ambiguous landscape between American Christianity and American public life. Built on an extensive study of religious periodical literature since the mid-1950s and on an analysis of landmark events in American history, Toulouse develops an insightful typology for understanding how Americans have related their Christian faith to public life. For Toulouse, the relationship between American Christianity and American public life exists in four styles of interaction--iconic faith, priestly faith, the public Christian, and the public church--with each model appearing in various forms across the terrain of American history. Carefully examined and accessibly written, this study is sure to generate discussion and bring clarity to the many ambiguities and diversities that continue to mark American Christianity.

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.