The issue of the separation of church and state has been at the center of a tremendous number of debates in the United States. Questions about prayer in pubic schools, government support of religious events, and more have created a great deal of controversy and quite a few court cases. The books here represent some of the best current works support church/state separation.
Religion is not an unmitigated good. Although religion can do some good for people, religion can also be used as a cover for crimes - or merely for what is otherwise a naked grab for power. Unfortunately, too many people act as though religion is always positive.
Is the separation of church and state really just a myth, something the founders never actually intended? Was the United States founded as a 'Christian Nation,' thus meaning that the current trend towards secularism represents an unacceptable break with our own history? According to the Religious Right, the answers to these questions are an unqualified 'Yes.'
Is religion necessary for the maintenance of social order? Would allowing greater religious liberty result in an increase in social disorder, social strife and a breakdown in common moral values? This debate has raged for centuries, and it shows little sign of letting up any time soon.
The principle that church and state are both best served when they remain separated has long been a guiding principle in American public and political life - or has it? In fact, the separating of church and state was a long and difficult process, and it hasn't quite been achieved even today. While many support this principle in various ways, many others honestly and sincerely oppose it.
Jews in America have played a crucial role in the development of the American understanding of the separation of church and state. They have been involved in test-case litigation, filing amicus curiae briefs, and influencing legal scholarship. How and why has this role developed, and how do Jews themselves perceive it?
Religious liberty is very important in the American political system and even to the American conception of itself as a free nation. Although religious liberties may be established in the American Constitution, mere words cannot guarantee that freedoms will be protected. Instead, we must rely upon the actions of people who believe the words in the Constitution and who want to see the principles of religious liberty maintained. But to whom should we turn when liberty is threatened?
Secularism and freethought have played important roles in the development of American society, culture, and politics, yet they are roles which have been largely forgotten and ignored. Americans tend to hear about and be familiar with the role of religion in their nation's history while freethinkers and skeptics are unjustly marginalized. This is both a tragedy and a travesty which desperately needs to be corrected.
The Christian Right has evolved into a powerful force in American politics during the past thirty years, moving from a purely outsider movement to the ultimate insiders. How did they achieve their gains - and, in fact, what sort of real gains have they actually managed to reach?
The First Amendment says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...," but what exactly did the authors mean by that? Did they simply mean that an official state church should not be established, as members of the Religious Right argue? Or did they mean that the government should not be involved with supporting and helping religion at all?
What is wrong with having prayer in school? Many people in the United States believe that organized classroom prayers would be good for the moral and spiritual development of the children, and it is true that such prayers were common in schools for a very long time.
