church and state

A collection of essays that presents various perspectives on the relationship between church and state.

Contains documents that provide insight into some of the key efforts on the part of Americans to practice and observe their religious beliefs; and includes writings by individuals opposed to religious freedom.

Fiona Maye, a London judge approaching the age of sixty, is forced to confront her crumbling marriage while she faces a difficult case in which a seventeen-year-old boy dying of leukemia is denied blood transfusions by his parents due to the family's religious beliefs.

Examines how pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his brother-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi actively opposed the tyranny of Hitler's Third Reich.

"... argues that the story of Christian America begins with the Great Depression, when a coalition of businessmen and religious leaders united in opposition to the New Deal. As Kruse shows, corporations from General Motors and Kraft Foods to J.C. Penney and Hilton Hotels poured money into the coffers of conservative religious leaders, who in turn used those funds to attack FDR's New Deal administration as a program of 'pagan statism' that perverted the central tenet of Christianity: the salvation of the individual"--Provided by publisher.

"Argues against religious influence on the American government and legal system; reveals that from sexuality to family planning and the tax system, religious doctrines permeate and direct American life; and proposes strategies for overcoming the imposition of external religious views"--Publishers.

Roy Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, defends his decision not to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from the state court building in defiance of a federal court order, and argues that it is constitutional and ethical to acknowledge God when considering issues of American law and government.

Examines the origins of the First Amendment to the Constitution; looks at two documents consistently cited by Supreme Court justices with regard to cases dealing with religion; and reproduces fifty Supreme Court decisions concerning freedom of religion.