Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices

Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. This book offers an engaging, accessible, and balanced treatment of religion in American politics. It explores the historical, cultural, and legal contexts that motivate religious political engagement and assesses the pragmatic and strategic political realities that religious organizations and people face. Incorporating the best and most current scholarship, the authors examine the evolving politics of Roman Catholics; evangelical and mainline Protestants; African-American and Latino traditions; Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities; recent immigrants and religious "nones"; and other conventional and not-so-conventional American religious movements.

New to the Sixth Edition

• Covers the 2016 election and assesses the role of religion from Obama to Trump.
• Expands substantially on religion’s relationship to gender and sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class, and features the role of social media in religious mobilization.
• Adds discussion questions at the end of every chapter, to help students gain deeper understanding of the subject.
• Adds a new concluding chapter on the normative issues raised by religious political engagement, to stimulate lively discussions.

 

Reviews

The new edition of this essential text on religion and American politics includes terrific features to help students engage with the material. I am especially impressed with expanded coverage of religion and intersectionality, as well as of religion in the Trump era.

--Elizabeth A. Oldmixon, University of North Texas

Religion and Politics in America continues to challenge students to understand how religion and culture interact and influence each other in American politics, including the impact of this dynamic on public policy. This insightful new edition introduces new information on race, gender, and sexual orientation in a manner that highlights change and stability across the political, legal, and cultural arenas.

--James D. Ward, Rutgers University-Newark