Religion and Politics in America

Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. Religion and Politics in America 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 politics of Roman Catholics; evangelical, mainline, and African American Protestants; Jews; Muslims; religious “nones” and other conventional and not-so-conventional American religious movements.

The sixth edition has been thoroughly revised to include coverage of the 2016 election; an assessment of the role of religion in Obama’s second term; and an updated and expanded look at religion and its relationship to gender and sexuality, race/ethnicity, and class. The new edition also foregrounds the theories of religion, culture and politics to better contextualize the book’s discussions. In-depth coverage of core topics, contemporary examples, useful feature boxes, and new discussion questions provide students with a real understanding of the interplay between religion and politics and culture.