The constitution of religious freedom
Subtitle: God, politics, and the First Amendment
By: Dennis J. Goldford
Publisher: Baylor University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Waco, Tex
Language: eng
Number of pages: 264
ISBN-13: 9781602584198
Subjects: Freedom of religion; Religion and politics; Church and state
Description: "In a time when the question of American religious identity underlies much political conversation, Dennis Goldford directs his readers to consider the First Amendment. The founding fathers' words, 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' are the constitutional means of ensuring, however imperfectly, the American freedom to stand for something sacred. In his analysis, Goldford ably demonstrates that the very nature of these relgion clauses establishes protection not for religion but for religious freedom. The Constitution of Religious Freedom argues that religious identity inheres not in the nation but in the individual citizen"--Jacket flap.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-258) and index.
Table of contents: title: Constitutional fundamentals; title: Religious minorities, religious freedom, and religion; title: Conventional vs. radical establishment clause jurisprudence; title: Orthodoxy and neutrality; title: The concept of coercion in establishment clause jurisprudence; title: The concept of position taking in establishment clause jurisprudence; title: The theoretical core of the establishment clause : the secularity principle.