The Religious Left and Church-state Relations

by Shiffrin, Steven H.

• ISBN13: 9780691141442
• ISBN10: 0691141444
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-07-27
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

InThe 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.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Pluralistic Foundations of the Religion Clauses	p. 9
Overview of Part I	p. 11
The Free Exercise Clause	p. 16
The Court's Approach	p. 16
Liberal Theory	p. 17
Communitarian Theory	p. 18
Free Exercise Values	p. 20
Applying the Free Exercise Clause	p. 23
Establishment Clause Values	p. 28
Liberty and Autonomy	p. 29
Equality	p. 30
Stability	p. 31
Promoting Political Community	p. 31
Protecting the Autonomy of Government	p. 32
Potecting Churches	p. 32
Promoting Religion	p. 34
Applying the Establishment Clause	p. 41
Acceptable Deviations from Equality	p. 42
Unacceptable Conformity with Equality: Equality in the Public School Classroom	p. 54
Concluding Observations about Part I	p. 58
The First Amendment and the Socialization of Children: Compulsory Public Education And Vouchers	p. 61
Compulsory Public Education	p. 63
Pierce v. Society of Sisters: A Landmark Case	p. 65
The Purposes of Public Education	p. 68
The Limits of Compulsory Public Education	p. 74
Constitutional? Sometimes. Good Public Policy? No.	p. 80
Vouchers	p. 82
Are Vouchers Constitutionally Required?	p. 82
Wise Policy for Preadolescents?	p. 83
Should vouchers Be Constitutionally Permitted for Religious Schools?	p. 86
Concluding Observations about Part II	p. 93
Religion and Progressive Politics	p. 95
	p. 97
Secular Liberalism	p. 100
Religious Liberalism	p. 106
The Politics of Liberalism	p. 110
The Relative Political Attractiveness of Secular and Religious Liberalism	p. 110
Religious and American Party Politics Grassroots Democracy, Liberal Politics, and Excessive Religious Hostiltiy	p. 127
Conclusion	p. 134
Notes	p. 137
Index	p. 237
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