@article{1479158,
      recid = {1479158},
      author = {Koppelman, Andrew, },
      title = {Defending American Religious Neutrality /},
      pages = {1 online resource (218 p.)},
      abstract = {Although it is often charged with hostility toward  religion, First Amendment doctrine in fact treats religion  as a distinctive human good. It insists, however, that this  good be understood abstractly, without the state taking  sides on any theological question. Here, a leading scholar  of constitutional law explains the logic of this uniquely  American form of neutrality-more religion-centered than  liberal theorists propose, and less overtly theistic than  conservatives advocate. The First Amendment's guarantee of  freedom of religion is under threat. Growing numbers of  critics, including a near-majority of the Supreme Court,  seem ready to cast aside the ideal of American religious  neutrality. Andrew Koppelman defends that ideal and  explains why protecting religion from political  manipulation is imperative in an America of growing  religious diversity. Understanding American religious  neutrality, Koppelman shows, can explain some familiar  puzzles. How can Bible reading in public schools be  impermissible while legislative sessions begin with  prayers, Christmas is an official holiday, and the words  "under God" appear in the Pledge of Allegiance? Are  faith-based social services, public financing of religious  schools, or the teaching of intelligent design  constitutional? Combining legal, historical, and  philosophical analysis, Koppelman shows how law coherently  navigates these conundrums. He explains why laws must have  a secular legislative purpose, why old, but not new,  ceremonial acknowledgments of religion are permitted, and  why it is fair to give religion special treatment.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/1479158},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674067561},
}