Rediscovering America S Sacred Ground

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Rediscovering America's Sacred Ground

Barbara A. McGraw
Rediscovering America s Sacred Ground Book PDF

Author : Barbara A. McGraw
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 266 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2012-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780791486955

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Rediscovering America's Sacred Ground by Barbara A. McGraw Pdf

Returning to the ideas of John Locke and the Founders themselves, Barbara A. McGraw examines the debate about the role of religion in American public life and unravels the confounded rhetoric on all sides. She reveals that no group has been standing on proper ground and that all sides have misused terminology (religion/secular), dichotomies (public/private), and concepts (separation of church and state) in ways that have little relevance to the original intentions of the Founders. She rediscovers a theology underlying the founding documents of the nation that is neither anyone's particular religion nor one requiring religion. Instead, it justifies freedom of conscience for all and provides a two-tiered public forum—a civic public forum and a conscientious public forum—for the debate itself and the actions that debate inspires. America's Sacred Ground—this theology and its public forum—determines the meaning of freedom and the ways in which Americans can pursue "the good": good government, good communities, good families, good relations between individuals, and good individuals from a plurality of perspectives. By exploring our past, McGraw answers the critical question, Who are we as a people and what do we stand for?

Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously

Barbara A. McGraw,Jo Renee Formicola
Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously Book PDF

Author : Barbara A. McGraw,Jo Renee Formicola
Publisher : Baylor University Press
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Religion and politics
ISBN : 9781932792331

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Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously by Barbara A. McGraw,Jo Renee Formicola Pdf

The clash between the religious right and the secular left undermines any serious debate about the role of religion in American public life. Such strident cultural rhetoric often ignores the positive contributions of America's many religions. By contrast, this volume celebrates America's religious diversity, demonstrating that religious pluralism is actually one of democracy's basic building blocks. Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously expands on Barbara A. McGraw's framework for understanding religious participation in public life--a two-tiered public forum, consisting of the civic public forum and the conscientious public forum. The chapters explore how diverse religious communities and traditions, including "newer" and marginalized religions, can make a meaningful contribution to American society and politics.

Church-State Issues in America Today

Ann W. Duncan,Steven L. Jones
Church State Issues in America Today Book PDF

Author : Ann W. Duncan,Steven L. Jones
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 841 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2007-12-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781573567541

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Church-State Issues in America Today by Ann W. Duncan,Steven L. Jones Pdf

Church and state issues are in the news now more than ever before. Political and religious leaders alike are negotiating shaky ground as they balance their religious/moral and political perspectives with their roles as leaders. New technologies push the boundaries of moral consensus by creating new controversies such as those involving stem-cell research and medical measures to sustain or end the lives of the terminally ill. The Supreme Court continues to work to clarify the fuzzy line between religion and politics as it addresses cases regarding abortion, school prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance, among other issues. Further controversies only lead to further divisions among Americans. Church and state issues are in the news now more than ever before. Political and religious leaders alike are negotiating on shaky ground as they balance their religious/moral and political perspectives with their roles as leaders. New technologies push the boundaries of moral consensus by creating new controversies such as those involving stem-cell research and medical measures to sustain or end the lives of the terminally ill. The Supreme Court continues to work to clarify the fuzzy line between religion and politics as it addresses cases regarding abortion, school prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance, among other issues. Further controversies only lead to further divisions among Americans. At the beginning of the 21st century, there are as many interpretations of this separation as there are interpretations of particular issues such as abortion or school vouchers. This three-volume collection summarizes the history and current status of issues involving the separation of church and state through chapters examining the backgrounds, relevant constitutional concerns, and variety of perspectives on specific controversies. Framed by a general discussion of the history of the separation between church and state and through careful attention to subjects such as capital punishment, gay marriage, and clergy support of political leaders, there emerges an incredibly complex, enlightening, and provocative picture for anyone with an interest in the unique nature of religion in the United States of America.

First Pure, Then Peaceable

Margaret Aymer
First Pure Then Peaceable Book PDF

Author : Margaret Aymer
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 163 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2008-03-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780567002396

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First Pure, Then Peaceable by Margaret Aymer Pdf

In 2001, Continuum published the extensive collected papers from African Americans and the Bible, an interdisciplinary conference held at Union Theological Seminary, NYC. In the collection's introduction, Vincent L. Wimbush issued a challenge to take seriously those who "read darkness," and to consider what it is they are doing when they read the Bible as "scripture." Wimbush's focus on "darkness readers," both within and outside of the African diaspora, breaks open the discourse around the nature, meaning, and importance of the Bible. By following the lead of "darkness readers," the Bible is revealed to be more than a collection of ancient documents from an inaccessible past; it is the site upon which modern, contemporary ideological battles have and continue to be waged. In this book Margaret Aymer takes up his challenge. It is an examination of the way in which Frederick Douglass, the nineteenth-century abolitionist, used the epistle of James, particularly Jas 3:17, in his abolitionist speeches, to "read" the "darkness" of slavery and slaveholding Christianity. Within the epistle of James is a rhetoric of the world as "darkness". Douglass uses this to read his contemporary "darkness." As part of her research, Aymer has created an index of biblical references in all of Frederick Douglass' abolitionist speeches as collected by J. W. Blassingame (1841-1860).

God in the Corridors of Power

Michael Ryan,Les Switzer
God in the Corridors of Power Book PDF

Author : Michael Ryan,Les Switzer
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 404 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2009-08-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9798216090960

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God in the Corridors of Power by Michael Ryan,Les Switzer Pdf

God in the Corridors of Power: Christian Conservatives, the Media, and Politics in America is a comprehensive study of Christian conservative power in America's political culture—how it was achieved, how it is maintained, and where it is going. It came about in part because of an enduring influence in the school room, the seminary and in the pulpit, and in part because conservatives are so skilled at using commercial and non-commercial media, including religious media, to disseminate their views to broader audiences. Though their power has waxed and waned, they continue to be a potent force in public policy today. The authors argue that the astonishing electoral successes of Christian conservatives at all levels of national, state and local government was made possible by linking political, social, media and religious interests with an emerging consensus about what constitutes a conservative mindset in American politics. Christian conservatives unquestionably have been the most significant component in a coalition of religious conservatives, traditionalist conservatives and neoconservatives that has driven the Republican Party now for almost two generations. This multifaceted understanding of Christian conservative activists in religion and politics traces the impact Christian conservatives have had on American Christianity as a whole while also examining the limitations imposed on the Christian conservative agenda by American civil religion, the Constitution and case law. The authors explore women's reproductive rights in the debate over contraception and abortion, and gay civil rights in the debate over gay marriage and family rights. The debate over intelligent design and evolution is examined in the context of the campaign to transform public school education. The run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is scrutinized against the background of the declared "war on terrorism." While the conservative religious and secular coalition within the Republican Party began to fragment even before the end of George W. Bush's first term in office, it remained a powerful force in the 2004 and 2008 elections. The book concludes with some thoughts about the impact of Christian conservatives in politics, media and religion in the future.

Religious Diversity--What's the Problem?

Rita M. Gross
Religious Diversity What s the Problem Book PDF

Author : Rita M. Gross
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 377 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2014-04-24
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781620324097

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Religious Diversity--What's the Problem? by Rita M. Gross Pdf

Once upon a time, on grounds of both religion and common sense, people assumed that the earth was flat and that the sun literally rose and set each day. When newly developing knowledge made those beliefs untenable, giving them up was difficult. Today the belief that only one of the world's various religions is true for all people on earth is equivalent to the belief in a flat earth. Both notions have become untenable, given contemporary knowledge about religion. Even though many people are still troubled by the existence of religious diversity today, that diversity is a fact of life. Religious diversity should be no more troubling to religious people than the fact that the earth is round and circles the sun. This provocative book, based on the author's longtime practice of Buddhism and comparative study of religion, provides tools with which one can truly appreciate religious diversity as a gift and resource rather than as a deficiency or a problem to be overcome. After we accept diversity as inevitable and become comfortable with it, diversity always enriches life--both nature and culture.

The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics

Corwin Smidt,Lyman Kellstedt,James L. Guth
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics Book PDF

Author : Corwin Smidt,Lyman Kellstedt,James L. Guth
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 599 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780190657871

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The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics by Corwin Smidt,Lyman Kellstedt,James L. Guth Pdf

Over the past three decades, the study of religion and politics has gone from being ignored by the scholarly 7ommunity to being a major focus of research. Yet, because this important research is not easily accessible to nonspecialists, much of the analysis of religion's role in the political arena that we read in the media is greatly oversimplified. This Handbook seeks to bridge that gap by examining the considerable research that has been conducted to this point andassessing what has been learned, what remains unsettled due to conflicting research findings, and what important questions remain largely unaddressed by current research endeavors. The Handbook is unique to the field of religion and American politics and should be of wide interest to scholars, students, journalists, and others interested in the American political scene.

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Politics in the U.S.

Barbara A. McGraw
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Politics in the U S Book PDF

Author : Barbara A. McGraw
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 592 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2016-04-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781118528679

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The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Politics in the U.S. by Barbara A. McGraw Pdf

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Politics in the U.S. provides a broad, inclusive, and rich range of chapters, in the study of religion and politics. Arranged in their historical context, chapters address themes of history, law, social and religious movements, policy and political theory. Broadens the parameters of this timely subject, and includes the latest work in the field Draws together newly-commissioned essays by distinguished authors that are cogent for scholars, while also being in a style that is accessible to students. Provides a balanced and inclusive approach to religion and politics in the U.S. Engages diverse perspectives from various discourses about religion and politics across the political and disciplinary spectra, while placing them in their larger historical context

The Last Freedom

Joseph P. Viteritti
The Last Freedom Book PDF

Author : Joseph P. Viteritti
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2009-02-09
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400827848

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The Last Freedom by Joseph P. Viteritti Pdf

The 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. Challenging much conventional opinion, Viteritti argues that the courts have failed to adequately protect religious minorities, that the rights of the religious are under greater threat than those of the secular, and that democracy exacts greater compromises and sacrifices from the religious than it does from the secular. He takes up a wide range of controversies, including the pledge of allegiance, school prayer, school vouchers, evolution, abortion, stem-cell research, gay marriage, and religious displays on public property. A fresh and surprising approach to the church-state question, The Last Freedom is squarely aimed at the wide center of the public that is frustrated with the extremes of both the Left and the Right.

Church, State and Public Justice

P. C. Kemeny
Church State and Public Justice Book PDF

Author : P. C. Kemeny
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2009-09-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780830874743

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Church, State and Public Justice by P. C. Kemeny Pdf

Abortion. Physician-assisted suicide. Same-sex marriages. Embryonic stem-cell research. Poverty. Crime. What is a faithful Christian response? The God of the Bible is unquestionably a God of justice. Yet Christians have had their differences as to how human government and the church should bring about a just social order. Although Christians share many deep and significant theological convictions, differences that threaten to divide them have often surrounded the matter of how the church collectively and Christians individually ought to engage the public square. What is the mission of the church? What is the purpose of human government? How ought they to be related to each other? How should social injustice be redressed? The five noted contributors to this volume answer these questions from within their distinctive Christian theological traditions, as well as responding to the other four positions. Through the presentations and ensuing dialogue we come to see more clearly what the differences are, where their positions overlap and why they diverge. The contributors and the positions taken include Clarke E. Cochran: A Catholic Perspective Derek H. Davis: A Classical Separation Perspective Ronald J. Sider: An Anabaptist Perspective Corwin F. Smidt: A Principled Pluralist Perspective J. Philip Wogaman: A Social Justice Perspective This book will be instructive for anyone seeking to grasp the major Christian alternatives and desiring to pursue a faithful corporate and individual response to the social issues that face us.

Challenging Religion

James A. Beckford,James T. Richardson
Challenging Religion Book PDF

Author : James A. Beckford,James T. Richardson
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 520 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2003-09-02
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781134392032

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Challenging Religion by James A. Beckford,James T. Richardson Pdf

In the last half century new religious movements or cults of one sort and another have mushroomed throughout the US and Europe. Increasingly these groups have been met with attempts to monitor and control them on the part of the state, and concerns about the protection of religious 'consumers' have been set against the democratic right to religious freedom. In this collection, leading sociologists of religion from the UK, US, Western and Eastern Europe debate the political, practical and ethical issues which arise from these changes in the religious landscape.

Interfaith Marriage in America

E. Seamon
Interfaith Marriage in America Book PDF

Author : E. Seamon
Publisher : Springer
Page : 363 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2012-11-09
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781137014856

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Interfaith Marriage in America by E. Seamon Pdf

Seamon explores the historical, theological, and societal dynamics of religious intermarriage as a way to introduce scholars to the myriad of factors that have contributed and will continue to contribute to the complete transformation of religion and Christianity in the twenty-first century.

Fault Lines

Gus diZerega
Fault Lines Book PDF

Author : Gus diZerega
Publisher : Quest Books
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2013-10-14
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780835630894

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Fault Lines by Gus diZerega Pdf

The United States is suffering its greatest upheaval since the Civil War—politically, economically, socially, religiously. With elegant, sweeping vision, Gus diZerega explores the complex causes leading us to this point, comparing them to giant fault lines that, when they erupt, create enormous disturbance and in time new landscapes. He traces the disruption, first, to America's first countercultural movement originating in the antebellum South and coming into later conflict with the "counterculture" of the 60s that continues now in phenomena like Burning Man; and second, to the crumbling of the moral foundation birthed by the Enlightenment, leading to today’s nihilism. But within the loss resides hope: diZerega sees promise of a new society based more in equality, sacred feminine values, and spiritual immanence. Whether the prevailing oligarchy will abort this transformation is the question of our time. This book enables those of us now living through it to understand the powerful forces shaping our lives and calling on us for a response.

Religion and American Cultures [4 volumes]

Gary Laderman,Luis León
Religion and American Cultures 4 volumes Book PDF

Author : Gary Laderman,Luis León
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 1712 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2014-12-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9798216137801

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Religion and American Cultures [4 volumes] by Gary Laderman,Luis León Pdf

This four-volume work provides a detailed, multicultural survey of established as well as "new" American religions and investigates the fascinating interactions between religion and ethnicity, gender, politics, regionalism, ethics, and popular culture. This revised and expanded edition of Religion and American Cultures: Tradition, Diversity, and Popular Expression presents more than 140 essays that address contemporary spiritual practice and culture with a historical perspective. The entries cover virtually every religion in modern-day America as well as the role of religion in various aspects of U.S. culture. Readers will discover that Americans aren't largely Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish anymore, and that the number of popular religious identities is far greater than many would imagine. And although most Americans believe in a higher power, the fastest growing identity in the United States is the "nones"—those Americans who elect "none" when asked about their religious identity—thereby demonstrating how many individuals see their spirituality as something not easily defined or categorized. The first volume explores America's multicultural communities and their religious practices, covering the range of different religions among Anglo-Americans and Euro-Americans as well as spirituality among Latino, African American, Native American, and Asian American communities. The second volume focuses on cultural aspects of religions, addressing topics such as film, Generation X, public sacred spaces, sexuality, and new religious expressions. The new third volume expands the range of topics covered with in-depth essays on additional topics such as interfaith families, religion in prisons, belief in the paranormal, and religion after September 11, 2001. The fourth volume is devoted to complementary primary source documents.

Secularization, Desecularization, and Toleration

Vyacheslav Karpov,Manfred Svensson
Secularization Desecularization and Toleration Book PDF

Author : Vyacheslav Karpov,Manfred Svensson
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2020-10-22
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9783030540463

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Secularization, Desecularization, and Toleration by Vyacheslav Karpov,Manfred Svensson Pdf

This book challenges the modern myth that tolerance grows as societies become less religious. The myth inseparably links the progress of toleration to the secularization of modern society. This volume scrutinizes this grand narrative theoretically and empirically, and proposes alternative accounts of the varied relationships between diverse interpretations of religion and secularity and multiple secularizations, desecularizations, and forms of toleration. The authors show how both secular and religious orthodoxies inform toleration and persecution, and how secularizations and desecularizations engender repressive or pluralistic regimes. Ultimately, the book offers an agency-focused perspective which links the variation in toleration and persecution to the actors of secularization and desecularization and their cultural programs.