Summary
Title: Great Quotations on Religious Freedom
Author: edited by Albert J. Menendez and Edd Doerr
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1573929417
Pro:
• Quotes on religious freedom from many eras, people
• Quotes are organized topically for easy referencepeople
• Quotes address many of the concerns of people today
Con:
• The indexing could be a little better
Description:
• Quotations on religious freedom from a wide variety of people
• Chapters and quotes are organized by topic rather than by person or chronologically
• Excellent reference for issues regarding the separation of church and state
Book Review
Most people will at least pay lip service to the principles of religious liberty, but too many argue for ideas and laws which rely upon the above premises - namely, that religious liberty is a bad thing and ultimately harmful to society. For some reason, there are still quite a few people around who honestly believe that conformity to traditional religious dogmas is necessary for the continuation of society, civilization and morality.
Fortunately, there are also many who have argued just the opposite - that society should not enforce religious conformity and that religious liberty is in fact a key to political and social vitality. But just where are they? Why don't we hear more from such people and what they think? It is a disappointement that expressions in favor of religious liberty tend to go unnoticed in popular culture and in the media.
However, Albert J. Menendez and Edd Doerr have published a book where statements in support of religious freedom are collected together. This is not a book which offers extended arguments in favor of such freedom - for that, you would have to look elsewhere. Instead, it presents statements from a wide variety of politicians, historians, scientists, journalists, judges and more - people from all areas of life. The editors have also made a special effort to include quotes from women, a group often ignored in such matters.
Great Quotations on Religious Freedom, Albert J. Menendez and Edd Doerr
Even better, the quotes are all organized topically. Thus, you can go specifically to those statements which have been made about abortion, blue laws, creationism, school prayer, and more than two dozen other subjects. As a bonus, the book also includes the full text for James Madison's Memorial and Remonstrance and Thomas Jefferson's Bill Establishing Religious Freedom - two documents which are vital to the early development of religious liberty in the United States.
