Political Pulpit Revisited (Paperback)

The Political Pulpit Revisited examines a set of arguments originally made in 1975 about church-state relations in the U.S. Scholars have long wondered how a nation of some two thousand different religious denominations has been able to remain relatively calm about such matters. Controversial issues like abortion rights, war-time pacifism, sanctuary for illegal aliens, clerical abuse of children, non-taxation of church property, and other matters con-tinually roil the political waters. The first edition describes how church and state tensions are worked out symbolically rather than coercively, legally, or economically. The Political Pulpit Revisited updates church/state arguments and then offers reflections by eight distinguished scholars who re-examine the relationship in light of recent events. The result is a fresh look at the American experiment in those relations and what it portends for the U.S. in the years ahead.