The Crisis of Religious Liberty

Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought

Edited by Stephen M. Krason

In The Crisis of Religious Liberty:Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought, contributors consider a series of significant challenges to the freedom of religious conscience and expression in the United States today. Such challenges include the mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concerning contraceptive, sterilization, and abortifacient coverage in health insurance plans; the question of health-care institutions requiring medical personnel to participate in morally objectionable procedures contrary to their religious beliefs; legal liability for individuals and businesses refusing on religious grounds to provide services for same-sex marriages; the prohibition on students from engaging in religious expression in public schools; the use of zoning laws to block Bible studies in private homes; and a variety of other issues that have surfaced in recent years with respect to religious freedom. While some argues that religious liberty extends no further than the freedom to worship, contributors suggest otherwise, noting that the exercise of religious liberty is greater than a highly restrictive definition of the notion of worship.

The Crisis of Religious Liberty comprises eight chapters and an afterword that explore the nature and basis of religious freedom in terms of Catholic social thought. They cover such topics as the Catholic Church's teachings from the Vatican II's Dignatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Liberty), the decline of a historic rapprochement among different religious perspectives in the United States in the face of an increasingly aggressive secularism, perspectives on religious liberty from the founding of America, and how the religious liberty situation in the U.S. compares with the rest of the world.

The Crisis of Religious Liberty:Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought should appeal to a variety of professionals as well as a scholars: lawyers and clergy, health care professionals and Catholic business owners, and researchers in the fields of religion, law, American politics, and sociology.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 210 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-4422-4253-1 • Hardback • December 2014 • $131.00 • (£101.00)

978-1-4422-4254-8 • eBook • December 2014 • $124.50 • (£96.00)

Series: Catholic Social Thought

Subjects: Religion / Christianity / Catholic, Religion / Christian Living / Social Issues, History / United States / General, Law / General

The Crisis of Religious Liberty

Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought

Hardback

eBook

Summary

In The Crisis of Religious Liberty:Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought, contributors consider a series of significant challenges to the freedom of religious conscience and expression in the United States today. Such challenges include the mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concerning contraceptive, sterilization, and abortifacient coverage in health insurance plans; the question of health-care institutions requiring medical personnel to participate in morally objectionable procedures contrary to their religious beliefs; legal liability for individuals and businesses refusing on religious grounds to provide services for same-sex marriages; the prohibition on students from engaging in religious expression in public schools; the use of zoning laws to block Bible studies in private homes; and a variety of other issues that have surfaced in recent years with respect to religious freedom. While some argues that religious liberty extends no further than the freedom to worship, contributors suggest otherwise, noting that the exercise of religious liberty is greater than a highly restrictive definition of the notion of worship.

The Crisis of Religious Liberty comprises eight chapters and an afterword that explore the nature and basis of religious freedom in terms of Catholic social thought. They cover such topics as the Catholic Church's teachings from the Vatican II's Dignatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Liberty), the decline of a historic rapprochement among different religious perspectives in the United States in the face of an increasingly aggressive secularism, perspectives on religious liberty from the founding of America, and how the religious liberty situation in the U.S. compares with the rest of the world.

The Crisis of Religious Liberty:Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought should appeal to a variety of professionals as well as a scholars: lawyers and clergy, health care professionals and Catholic business owners, and researchers in the fields of religion, law, American politics, and sociology.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 210 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-4422-4253-1 • Hardback • December 2014 • $131.00 • (£101.00)

978-1-4422-4254-8 • eBook • December 2014 • $124.50 • (£96.00)

Series: Catholic Social Thought

Subjects: Religion / Christianity / Catholic, Religion / Christian Living / Social Issues, History / United States / General, Law / General

Author

Stephen M. Krason is professor of political science and legal studies and director of the political science program at Franciscan University of Steubenville, cofounder and president of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, and a lawyer. He has authored and edited several books on topics related to Catholic social thought including The Public Order and the Sacred Order: Contemporary Issues, Catholic Social Thought, and the Western and American Traditions (Scarecrow Press, 2009) and most recently Child Abuse, Family Rights, and the Child Protective System: A Critical Analysis from Law, Ethics, and Catholic Social Teaching (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Anne Hendershott
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Religious Liberty and the Human Good
Robert P. George

Chapter 2: A Culture of Religious Liberty
Gerard V. Bradley

Chapter 3: A Tale of Two (Religious) Freedoms in a Time Such as This
Randy Lee

Chapter 4: Thomas Jefferson’s Philosophy of Religious Freedom: The Political Philosophy of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Vincent Phillip Muńoz

Chapter 5: “Marching in Opposite Directions”: Religion and Liberty in the American Past and Present
Kevin Schmiesing

Chapter 6: “Engines of the Ruling Party”: Political Correctness, 9/11, and the Politics of Culture Robert A. Destro

Chapter 7: From Articles of Peace to Kulturkampf: Catholicism, the HHS Mandate, and the Problem of Religious Pluralism in America
Kenneth L. Grasso

Chapter 8: The Human Right to Religious Liberty: How Does the U.S. Measure Up?
William L. Saunders

Afterword by Stephen M. Krason
About the Contributors
Index