"Do you know if you are going to heaven?" -- Saved in South Jersey -- Just ask pops -- What would Madison and Franklin do? -- The founders' faithful consensus -- Myths 1 and 2 : a godly republic, not a secular state or a Christian nation --One nation, under God, for all -- A warm civic welcome, not a high legal wall -- Between Jefferson and Witherspoon : Madison -- Madison's multiplicity of sects versus the anti-federalists -- Most blessed compromise : the Bill of Rights -- Neo-anti-federalists versus judicial tyranny -- The court's neutrality doctrine -- Myths 3 and 4 : equal protection -- Blessings in the balance -- Strict separation doctrine's anti-Catholic roots -- Lemon aid stands : religion and education -- Free exercise versus indirect establishment -- Blame the founders, the anti-federalists, and the people -- The people's charitable choice -- Myths 5 and 6 : religious pluralists, not strict secularists or religious purists -- Bipartisan beliefs -- Purple people on church-state -- Turning red over religion? -- Two electoral extremes equal one-third -- Proxy government gets religion, 1996-2000 -- No Bush versus Gore on "faith-based" -- The president's bipartisan prayer -- Faith-based without works is dead -- Three steps on the road not taken -- Neutrality challenges : the Bush faith bill -- Believers only need apply? -- Religious voucher visions -- Hope in the semi-seen : Amachi -- The nation's spiritual capital -- Myths 7 and 8 : faith-based volunteer mobilization, not faith-saturated spiritual transformation -- Bowling alone versus praying together -- Big picture : bridging Blacks and whites -- Faithful Philadelphia : scores of services for people in need -- Putting faith in civic partnerships -- Esperanza objectivo : the three faith factors -- The republic's faith-based future -- Myths 9 and 10 : civiv ecumenism, not sectarian triumphalism or secular extremism -- Take prisoners : evangelical Christians versus secular liberals -- Do unto others : Pratt versus Pratt -- Think Catholic : church, state, and larger communities -- No post-poverty nation : Matthew 25 -- The faith-based future's blessings -- Second trinity : three faith-free principles -- Invest wisely : FBOS as civic value stocks -- Target blessings : young Black low-income males -- Honor thy Franklin : back to America's faith-based future.

“Illuminating.” —Phil Zuckerman, author of Living the Secular Life If the First Amendment protects the separation of church and state, why have atheists had to fight for their rights? In this valuable work, R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick reveal the fascinating history of atheism in America and the legal challenges to federal and state laws that made atheists second-class citizens.

President Obama has signaled a sharp break from many Bush Administration policies, but he remains committed to federal support for religious social service providers. Like George W. Bush's faith-based initiative, though, Obama's version of the policy has generated loud criticism - from both sides of the aisle - even as the communities that stand...

In his last book, Ronald Dworkin addresses questions that men and women have asked through the ages: What is religion and what is God’s place in it? What is death and what is immortality? Based on the 2011 Einstein Lectures, Religion without God is inspired by remarks Einstein made that if religion consists of awe toward mysteries which “manifest themselves in the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, and which our dull faculties can comprehend only in the most primitive forms,” then, he, Einstein, was a religious person. Dworkin joins Einstein’s sense of cosmic mystery and beauty to the claim that value is objective, independent of mind, and immanent in the world. He rejects the metaphysics of naturalism—that nothing is real except what can be studied by the natural sciences. Belief in God is one manifestation of this deeper worldview, but not the only one. The conviction that God underwrites value presupposes a prior commitment to the independent reality of that value—a commitment that is available to nonbelievers as well. So theists share a commitment with some atheists that is more fundamental than what divides them. Freedom of religion should flow not from a respect for belief in God but from the right to ethical independence. Dworkin hoped that this short book would contribute to rational conversation and the softening of religious fear and hatred. Religion without God is the work of a humanist who recognized both the possibilities and limitations of humanity.

Puritans did not find a life free from tyranny in the new world—they created it there. Massachusetts emerged a republic as they hammered out a vision of popular participation and limited government in church and state, spurred by Plymouth pilgrims. Godly Republicanism underscores how pathbreaking yet rooted in puritanism’s history the project was.

Islam is not the only religion that has sought to take political power, or believed that it should be possible to create a theocracy. In the 17th century, Christians in the British Isles and North America attempted to follow the examples of 16th century European radicals of contrasting types, while attempting to learn from their mistakes - first in Scotland, and then Cromwell tried to impose just such a rule in the rest of the country. At the same time, millenarian groups planned a religious, political and social revolution to usher in the return of Christ; while others argued for something akin to communism. And even after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, there were sects, such as the Quakers, whose faith had a radical impact on their politics. Nor is Christian radicalism dead today - it has influenced politicians ever since.

The Uses and Misuses of Politics is a detailed examination of the politics of George W. Bush’s presidency, focusing on the work—and the mistakes—of presidential political advisor Karl Rove. In his role as political advisor Karl Rove stands apart from his numerous counterparts in modern American politics in three major ways. The first measure of Rove’s distinctiveness is the totality of his direction over Bush’s political career. Simply put, George W. Bush never won an election, of any kind, in which Rove was not the dominant, even sole campaign strategist A second important difference between Karl Rove and other major presidential campaign strategists was the role that Rove played in helping formulate policy after Bush became president. In fact, Rove became the first presidential aide to both provide political advice to a sitting president while at the same time controlling the policy levers inside the White House, especially as an advocate for his own agenda in the areas of domestic policy. Finally, Karl Rove is noteworthy for the scope of his ambitions: his goal for the Bush presidency was to create a durable Republican majority that would dominate American politics for the next several decades. Even though theories of party systems and realignments have received serious challenges, Karl Rove was a believer; providing a key insight into how he approached his work with the Bush presidency. Where previous realignments were the result of historical accidents and recognized only after the fact, Karl Rove believed he could engineer the next one. In The Uses and Misuses of Politics William G. Mayer analyzes Karl Rove’s performance as presidential advisor: the roles he played, the advice he gave, and how the Republican Party fared with Rove as its principal strategist. By offering the reader a comprehensive assessment, Mayer provides valuable insight into the larger, enduring, and critical questions: What is the proper role of politics in the contemporary presidency? When does politics enhance a nation’s long-term welfare, and what does it detract from it? And what positive contributions can political advisors make to a modern-day president?