Contribution to Book
Religious Liberty and Religious Minorities in the United States
Oxford Handbook on Church and State in the United States
(2010)
Abstract
The United States has always been one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. To date, it has various religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Native American religions, and many others, compared to the Episcopalian, Puritan, and Protestant religions that proliferated during its founding. While America is presumed to be dominated by Protestants, its religious liberty has allowed religious pluralism, whereby every denomination is a minority in the religiously diverse scenario of the country. This article highlights the role played by the religious minorities in the establishment of religious freedom and liberty in the United States. It examines the role of religious traditions individually in contrast to a more traditional historical narrative. The focus is on the role of religious groups in creating religious law as shaped by the U.S. Supreme Court cases. By tracking the contributions of various religious groups individually, a different angle is provided on the role that minority religions have played in establishing religious freedom in the U.S., and the importance of the minority religious players in creating the U.S. system.
Keywords
- religious freedom,
- religious minorities
Disciplines
Publication Date
2010
Editor
Derek H. Davis
Publisher
Oxford Press
ISBN
978-0195326246
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195326246.003.0009
Publisher Statement
Study of church and state in the United States is incredibly complex. Scholars working in this area have backgrounds in law, religious studies, history, theology, and politics, among other fields. Historically, they have focused on particular angles or dimensions of the church-state relationship, because the field is so vast. The results have mostly been monographs that focus only on narrow cross-sections of the field, and the few works that do aim to give larger perspectives are reference works of factual compendia, which offer little or no analysis.
The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States fills this gap, presenting an extensive, multidimensional overview of the field. Twenty-one essays offer a scholarly look at the intricacies and past and current debates that frame the American system of church and state, within five main areas: history, law, theology/philosophy, politics, and sociology. These essays provide factual accounts, but also address issues, problems, debates, controversies, and, where appropriate, suggest resolutions. They also offer analysis of the range of interpretations of the subject offered by various American scholars. This Handbook is an invaluable resource for the study of church-state relations in the United States.
Citation Information
Elizabeth A. Sewell. "Religious Liberty and Religious Minorities in the United States" Oxford Handbook on Church and State in the United States. Ed. Derek Davis. Oxford Press, 2010.