The Last Freedom: Religion from the Public School to the Public SquareThe presidency of George W. Bush has polarized the church-state debate as never before. The Far Right has been emboldened to use religion to govern, while the Far Left has redoubled its efforts to evict religion from public life entirely. Fewer people on the Right seem to respect the church-state separation, and fewer people on the Left seem to respect religion itself--still less its free exercise in any situation that is not absolutely private. In The Last Freedom, Joseph Viteritti argues that there is a basic tension between religion and democracy because religion often rejects compromise as a matter of principle while democracy requires compromise to thrive. In this readable, original, and provocative book, Viteritti argues that Americans must guard against debasing politics with either antireligious bigotry or religious zealotry. Drawing on politics, history, and law, he defines a new approach to the church-state question that protects the religious and the secular alike. |
From inside the book
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... majority opinions. What would it mean for the rest of the country if Texas were told to remove the giant sheets of granite? Chief Justice Rehnquist noted that a portrait of Moses, holding the two tablets inscribed with the Commandments ...
... majority rule poses for individuals and groups that find themselves part of a religious and political minority. These stories are positioned at the front end of the book to remind readers that there are more than abstract principles at ...
... majority. The true measure of religious freedom is the tolerance it affords those whose behavior is most out of step with the rest of us. At the same time, religious organizations should not be permitted to impose their faith on ...
... majority of the American people who inhabit the center of political life, whom I will later describe nonpejoratively as the hollow middle, are uncomfortable with extremists on both the right and the left. They do not want religion to be ...
... majority of Catholics support legalized abor- tion,9 though they are not as inclined as politicians to distinguish their political view from their personal ethics.10 When pushed, they are more prone to defend their position on moral ...
Contents
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15 | |
9780691130118_4CH3pdf | 44 |
9780691130118_5CH4pdf | 66 |
9780691130118_6CH5pdf | 87 |
9780691130118_7CH6pdf | 114 |
9780691130118_8CH7pdf | 145 |
9780691130118_9CH8pdf | 176 |
9780691130118_10CH9pdf | 208 |
9780691130118_11NOTpdf | 241 |
9780691130118_12INDpdf | 263 |
Other editions - View all
The Last Freedom: Religion from the Public School to the Public Square Joseph P. Viteritti No preview available - 2007 |