Religion Returns to the Public Square
Faith and Policy in America
Hugh Heclo editor Wilfred M McClay editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Johns Hopkins University Press
Published:28th Feb '03
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£21.50(9780801871955)
Despite talk of a "naked public square", religion has never really lost its place in American public life. As the 21st century opened, it was re-emerging in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Religious institutions were considered for expanded roles in welfare and education, at the same time that the limits of religious pluralism - as, for example, in the relation of Islam to American values - became a question of urgent public concern. This text explores how and why religion has to be mixed up with American politics. Uncovering philosophical, historical, legal and social roots of this relationship, these essays go beyond "hot-button" issues to reflect on the current interactions and future possibilities of religion and politics in America.
The authors span the political and religious spectrum . . . This well-documented collection demonstrates that a secular state can thrive even when its citizenry is deeply committed religiously, albeit to diverse ways of being religious. This book will be valuable to those interested in the role of religion in public life, in both historical and contemporary terms.
* Choice *These essays, written by experts of all faiths, offer informative insights and even inspiration.
-- Robert F. Drinan * America *The contributors here are the right people to push a diverse debate.
* Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology *A very fine collection of essays by scholars on differing aspects of religion's public presence . . . If you want to read one volume on the role of religion in public life, this is the current front-runner.
* Virginia Quarterly Review *This impressive study . . . is grounded on the premise that religion is inevitably public in a political sense . . . must be only the beginning of the never-ending quest to discover the answer to a burning question, which is likely to be the foremost issue facing the American nation in the years to come.
-- Robert F. Drinan * AmeriISBN: 9780801871948
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 33mm
Weight: 680g
408 pages