The Third Disestablishment
Church, State, and American Culture, 1940-1975
Steven K. Green
Reviews and Awards
"The completion of this latest volume places Green's achievements on par with other defining works of church-state history.... The sum of The Third Establishment's cogent, multifaceted argument is that separationism was neither a precisely defined concept nor directed exclusively at Catholics. It embodied a diffuse, secularizing current in American culture which, when paired with the pluralistic impulses of the Civil Rights era, collapsed under the weight of its contradictions. Nonetheless, it defined American jurisprudence for decades. And no one has done a better job of illuminating its twentieth-century history than Steven Green." - Church History
"Green's account of Church-State issues in the mid-twentieth century is comprehensive, coherent and compelling. Based on extensive research in primary sources and brimming with astute analysis, The third disestablishment greatly enhances our understanding of the relationship between America's government and its religious institutions and communities." - Gary Scott Smith, Grove City College, Pennsylvania, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
"It is impossible, in such short space, to do justice to what is easily one of the most important books on the postwar religion cases to appear in many years." - John W. Compton, Chapman University, Journal of Church and State
"Green argues persuasively that previous studies have either missed or mischaracterized crucial aspects of the story. His revisionist reading of the material is both subtle and profound. easily one of the most important books on the postwar religion cases to appear in many years." - Journal of Church and State
"Recommended." - S.B. Lichtman, CHOICE