The Religious Left and Church-State Relations

Steven H. Shiffrin (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

256 Seiten

2012
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-15619-4 (ISBN)

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In The Religious Left and Church-State Relations, noted constitutional law scholar Steven Shiffrin argues that the religious left, not the secular left, is best equipped to lead the battle against the religious right on questions of church and state in America today. Explaining that the chosen rhetoric of secular liberals is poorly equipped to argue against religious conservatives, Shiffrin shows that all progressives, religious and secular, must appeal to broader values promoting religious liberty. He demonstrates that the separation of church and state serves to protect religions from political manipulation while tight connections between church and state compromise the integrity of religious institutions. Shiffrin discusses the pluralistic foundations of the religion clauses in the First Amendment and asserts that the clauses cannot be confined to the protection of liberty, equality, or equal liberty. He explores the constitutional framework of religious liberalism, applying it to controversial examples, including the Pledge of Allegiance, the government's use of religious symbols, the teaching of evolution in public schools, and school vouchers.
Shiffrin examines how the approaches of secular liberalism toward church-state relations have been misguided philosophically and politically, and he illustrates why theological arguments hold an important democratic position--not in courtrooms or halls of government, but in the public dialogue. The book contends that the great issue of American religious politics is not whether religions should be supported at all, but how religions can best be strengthened and preserved.

Steven H. Shiffrin is the Charles Frank Reavis Sr. Professor of Law at Cornell University. He is the author of Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America and The First Amendment, Democracy, and Romance (both Princeton).

Preface ix Introduction 1 PART I: THE PLURALISTIC FOUNDATIONS OF THE RELIGION CLAUSES 9 Chapter 1. Overview of Part I 11 Chapter 2. The Free Exercise Clause 16 The Court's Approach 16 Liberal Theory 17 Communitarian Theory 18 Free Exercise Values 20 Applying the Free Exercise Clause 23 Chapter 3. Establishment Clause Values 28 Liberty and Autonomy 29 Equality 30 Stability 31 Promoting Political Community 31 Protecting the Autonomy of Government 32 Protecting Churches 32 Promoting Religion 34 Chapter 4. Applying the Establishment Clause 41 Acceptable Deviations from Equality 42 Unacceptable Conformity with Equality: Equality in the Public School Classroom 54 Concluding Observations about Part I 58 PART II: THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN: COMPULSORY PUBLIC EDUCATION AND VOUCHERS 61 Chapter 5. Compulsory Public Education 63 Pierce v. Society of Sisters: A Landmark Case 65 The Purposes of Public Education 68 The Limits of Compulsory Public Education 74 Constitutional? Sometimes. Good Public Policy? No. 80 Chapter 6. Vouchers 82 Are Vouchers Constitutionally Required? 82 Wise Policy for Preadolescents? 83 Should Vouchers Be Constitutionally Permitted for Religious Schools? 86 Concluding Observations about Part II 93 PART III . RELIGION AND PROGRESSIVE POLITICS 95 Chapter 7. Religion and Progressive Politics 97 Secular Liberalism 100 Religious Liberalism 106 Chapter 8. The Politics of Liberalism 110 The Relative Political Attractiveness of Secular and Religious Liberalism 110 Religion and American Party Politics 125 Grassroots Democracy, Liberal Politics, and Excessive Religious Hostility 127 Conclusion 134 Notes 137 Index 237

Erscheint lt. Verlag	16.9.2012
Verlagsort	New Jersey
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 235 mm
Gewicht	340 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie
	Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
	Recht / Steuern ► Öffentliches Recht ► Verfassungsrecht
ISBN-10	0-691-15619-0 / 0691156190
ISBN-13	978-0-691-15619-4 / 9780691156194
Zustand	Neuware