Church, State, and the Crisis in American Secularism

Bruce Ledewitz is Professor of Law at Duquesne University School of Law and author of American Religious Democracy: Coming to Terms with the End of Secular Politics and Hallowed Secularism: Theory, Belief, Practice. Ledewitz is a recognized expert in the fields of constitutional law and criminal law.

• PrefaceIntroductionI. The Establishment Clause Crisis1. What We Say: The Supreme Court's Promise of Government Neutrality Toward Religion2. What We Do: The Failure of the Supreme Court to Redeem the Promise of Government Neutrality3. Why Only the People and Not History Can Resolve the Establishment Clause Crisis4. Proposals That Have Failed to Resolve the Establishment Clause CrisisII. Using Government Speech and Higher Law to Resolve the Establishment Clause Crisis5. The Establishment of Higher Law6. Using Religious Symbols to Establish Higher Law7. Applying Higher Law in Church/State IssuesIII. Using the Higher Law Establishment Clause to Save Secularism8. The Failure of Secularism under the New Atheism9. The New New Secularism and the Higher Law10. Is God a Universal Symbol?11. The New Politics of Higher Law SecularismConclusion: Perfecting DemocracyNotesBibliographyIndex

"Ledewitz (Duquesne Univ. School of Law) attempts to solve what he sees as two important and related crises that currently threaten the health and quality of American civic life: a crisis in American secularism referenced in the title (discussed primarily in part 3 of this book) and a crisis surrounding the First Amendment's establishment clause (the primary focus of parts 1 and 2). The latter crisis is relatively simply described: while the Supreme Court has stated that the establishment clause requires government neutrality toward religion, in reality government consistently favors religion of a monotheistic variety (one could say 'Judeo-Christian') in the public square. The former crisis centers on what Ledewitz describes as a developing trend toward the 'new atheism' within the growing American secular community. Ledewitz worries that the growing acceptance of moral relativism and rejection of clear standards of right and wrong among secular Americans might ultimately result in a society that ignores justice, or perhaps even lacks a clear sense of what is just. Summing Up: Recommended. All undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. —Choice"—M. D. Brewer, University of Maine"Bruce Ledewitz has produced a valuable book that raises important questions about the unique relationships between church and state, religion and secularism. Drawing on a rich collection of sources, Church, State, and the Crisis in American Secularism calls on Americans, both secular and religious, to find common ground."—Senator Joe Lieberman"In our often rancorous and genuinely difficult debates over Church and State, we need more people like Bruce Ledewitz who sets out in search for common ground and who tries to persuade rather than shout down those who disagree with them. He writes in the spirit of someone trying to move us forward, and even those who find much to argue with here will come to see Church, State and the Crisis in American Secularism as an excellent starting place for a more productive argument."—E. J. Dionne, author of Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right"A fresh, provocative approach to longstanding problems concerning the relationship of church and state [that] will make people on every side of this debate think more carefully and fruitfully about their positions."—Steven Goldberg, author of Bleached Faith: The Tragic Cost When Religion is Forced Into the Public Square"This is an ambitious, rich, and rewarding book. Readers will learn a great deal about the place of religion in contemporary American politics, the U.S. Supreme Court's treatment of 'church-state separation' since the mid-twentieth century, and the complex dance between faith and secularism in America's free religious marketplace. Not all readers will agree with Ledewitz's normative concerns or with his solutions, but considering both is a task well worth undertaking."—Insight Turkey"Ledewitz's incorporation of the intellectual history of and current challenges facing secularism is a valuable and unique contribution to the Establishment Clauses literature."—Duquesne Law Review"Ledewitz's Church, State and the Crisis in American Secularism is an ambitious and timely work. . . . [His] critique of modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence is compelling and frequently insightful."—Law and Politics Book Review"Church, State, and the Crisis in American Secularism is a fascinating and scholarly read, highly recommended. September 2011"—Midwest Book Review