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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... mean to suggest that the consequences of religious bias are as grave now as the effects of racial bigotry were then, but the manifesta- tions are similar. Most Americans are not mindful of the problem be- cause they are not affected by ...
... mean that the monument should be left in place, while the latter urged that it be taken away. Aside from the attention to principle and precedent, there was a strong current of pragmatism that ran through the majority opinions. What ...
... means to remove their children from undesirable schools—either by selecting private schools or by moving to high-priced communities with better public schools—we owe poor parents similar opportunities to control the edu- cation of their ...
... mean- ing to the practice of faith. Some are more vocal about religion than others. Such exuberance, however, should not be used against individu- als or communities to disqualify them from full participation in demo- cratic life, no ...
... mean by “extreme secularism” and what it might produce. The French come to mind. On March 15, 2004, President Jacques Chirac signed a law that made it illegal for students in elementary, middle, and high schools to “wear symbols or ...
Contents
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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 |