The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States

Edited by Derek H. Davis

Oxford Handbooks

Provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between church and state in the United States
Contains twenty essays by leading scholars in the field on a wide range of issues of church and state

The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States

Edited by Derek H. Davis

Description

Study of church and state in the United States is incredibly complex. Scholars working in this area have backgrounds in law, religious studies, history, theology, and politics, among other fields. Historically, they have focused on particular angles or dimensions of the church-state relationship, because the field is so vast. The results have mostly been monographs that focus only on narrow cross-sections of the field, and the few works that do aim to give larger perspectives are reference works of factual compendia, which offer little or no analysis.

The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States fills this gap, presenting an extensive, multidimensional overview of the field. Twenty-one essays offer a scholarly look at the intricacies and past and current debates that frame the American system of church and state, within five main areas: history, law, theology/philosophy, politics, and sociology. These essays provide factual accounts, but also address issues, problems, debates, controversies, and, where appropriate, suggest resolutions. They also offer analysis of the range of interpretations of the subject offered by various American scholars. This Handbook is an invaluable resource for the study of church-state relations in the United States.

The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States

Edited by Derek H. Davis

Oxford Handbooks

Part One: Introduction
1. Religious Pluralism as the Essential Foundation of America's Quest for Unity and Order, Derek H. Davis
Part Two: Historical Dimensions
2. The Founding Era (1774-1797) and the Constitutional Provision for Religion, John F. Wilson
3. Eighteenth-Century Religious Liberty: The Founding Generation's Protestant-Derived Understanding, Barry Alan Shain
4. Church and State in Nineteenth-Century America, Steven K. Green
5. Religious Advocacy by American Religious Institutions: A History, Melissa Rogers
Part Three: Constitutional Dimensions
6. Constitutional Language and Judicial Interpretations of the Free Exercise Clause, Bette Novitt Evans
7. The U.S. Supreme Court and Non-First Amendment Religion Cases, Ronald B. Flowers
8. The Meaning of the Separation of Church and State: Competing Views, Daniel L. Dreisbach
9. Managed Pluralism: The Emerging Church-State Model in the United States? Nicholas Gvosdev
Part Four: Theological and Philosophical Dimensions
10. Religious Liberty and Religious Minorities in the United States, Elizabeth A. Sewell
11. Religious Symbols and Religious Expression in the Public Square, T. Jeremy Gunn
12. Religious Liberty as a Democratic Institution, Ted G. Jelen
13. Pursuit of the Moral Good and the Church-State Conundrum in the United States: The Politics of Sexual Orientation beyond Lawrence, Andrew R. Murphy and Caitlin Kerr
Part Five: Political Dimensions
14. Monitoring and Surveillance of Religious Groups in the United States, James T. Richardson and Thomas Robbins
15. The U.S. Congress: Protecting and Accommodating Religion, Allen D. Hertzke
16. The Christian Right and Church-State Issues, Clyde Wilcox and Sam Potolicchio
17. American Religious Liberty in International Perspective, John Witte, Jr.
Part Six: Sociological Dimensions
18. Supply-Side Changes in American Religion: Exploring the Implications of Church-State Relations, Roger Finke
19. Peeking through Jefferson's Wall: A Sociological Assessment of U.S. Church-State Relations, N.J. Demerath, III
20. The Role of Civil Religion in American Society, Richard V. Pierard
Part Seven: Conclusion
21. The Interplay of Law, Religion, and Politics in the United States, Derek H. Davis

The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States

Edited by Derek H. Davis

Oxford Handbooks

Author Information

Edited by Derek H. Davis, Dean, College of Humanities; Dean, Graduate School, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

Derek H. Davis is the Dean of the College of Humanities and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Director of the UMHB Center for Religious Liberty. He was formerly Director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies and Professor of Political Science, Baylor University, and Editor of the Journal of Church and State. He is the author or editor of seventeen books, including Original Intent and Religion and the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, and more than 150 articles in various journals and periodicals. He serves numerous organizations given to the protection of religious freedom in American and international contexts.

Contributors:

N.J. Demerath III, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Daniel L. Dreisbach, Professor of Justice, Law and Society, School of Public Affairs, American University
Bette Novit Evans, Professor Emerita of Political Science, Creighton University
Roger Finke, Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University; Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives
Ronald B. Flowers, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Texas Christian University
Steven K. Green, Professor of Law; Adjunct Professor of History; Director of the interdisciplinary Center for Religion, Law and Public Affairs, Willamette University,
T. Jeremy Gunn, Professor of International Relations, Al Akhawayn University; Senior Fellow for Religion and Human Rights, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University School of Law
Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Professor of National Security Studies, U.S. Naval War College
Allen D. Hertzke, Professor of Political Science; Director of Religious Studies, University of Oklahoma
Ted G. Jelen, Professor of Political Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Caitlin S. Kerr, Juris Doctor Candidate, Indiana University Maurer School of Law-Bloomington
Andrew R. Murphy, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Richard V. Pierard, Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana State University
Sam Potolicchio, Doctoral Candidate, Georgetown University
James T. Richardson, Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies, University of Nevada, Reno
Thomas Robbins, Independent Scholar
Melissa Rogers, Director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs, Wake Forest University Divinity School
Elizabeth A. Sewell, Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, Brigham Young University
Barry Alan Shain, Associate Professor of Political Science, Colgate University
Clyde Wilcox, Professor of Government, Georgetown University
John F. Wilson, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Princeton University
John Witte, Jr., Professor of Law; Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion Center, Emory University