Interpreting the free exercise of religion : the Constitution and American pluralism / Bette Novit Evans.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Evans, Bette Novit.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Freedom of religion--United States.

Freedom of religion.

Church and state--United States.

Church and state.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (294 p. )

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c1997.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this book, Bette Novit Evans explores the contemporary understandings of this First Amendment guarantee in all of its complexity and ambiguity.

Evans situates constitutional arguments about free exercise within the context of theological and sociological insights about American religious experience. She surveys and evaluates several of the most well considered approaches to religious freedom and applies them to contemporary legal controversies, examining problems in defining religion and claims concerning the autonomy of religious institutions. Her conclusions about religious liberty are embedded in an appreciation of American pluralism: the guarantee of religious freedom, she argues, can be understood as an instrument for fostering alternative sources of meaning within a pluralistic political community.

Contents:

The search for principles

Definitions of religion under the Free Exercise Clause

Burdens to religious beliefs

The nature of religious exercises

The autonomy of religious institutions

Threats to religious identity

Burdens on religious exercise

Accommodating, exempting, and balancing : religious freedom and the political process

The pluralist theory of free exercise.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (o, [247]-288) and index.

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

ISBN:

9798890868893

9780807861349

0807861340