Beyond Labels

We’ll discuss the relationship between religion and government in the U.S.

With voters perceived to be aligned (in substantial numbers) around religion and religious principles, legislators reacting to those voter blocs, and a Supreme Court populated, at least in part, with justices who are characterized, and categorized, by their professed religious beliefs, we’ll examine how the “separation of church and state” works and how we think it should work.

Here are some readings assembled by Hugh:

• Heather Cox Richardson blog post–April 17
• Why the decline in church attendance won’t end here, WaPo Opinion
• Moscow patriarch stokes Orthodox tensions with war remarks, AP Article
• The Growing Religious Fervor in the American Right, NYT Article

On April 11, we’ll discuss the attached New York Times article, highlighting how various states are adopting laws that are very different from each other. Is this evidence of the “laboratories of democracy” at work, or is this just unacceptably divisive activity that should be (somehow) curtailed?