The Cambridge Companion to the First Amendment and Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
Order now on Amazon
This book is an interdisciplinary guide to the religion clauses of the First Amendment with a focus on its philosophical foundations, historical developments, and legal and political implications. The volume begins with fundamental questions about God, the nature of belief and worship, conscience, freedom, and their intersections with law. It then traces the history of religious liberty and church-state relations in America through a diverse set of religious and non-religious voices from the seventeenth century to the most recent Supreme Court decisions. The companion will conclude by addressing legal and political questions concerning the First Amendment and the court cases and controversies surrounding religious liberty today, including the separation of church and state, corporate religious liberty, and constitutional interpretation. This scholarly yet accessible book will introduce students and scholars alike to the main issues concerning the First Amendment and religious liberty, along with offering incisive new insights into one of the most important topics in American culture.
Cambridge University Press Catalog
Endorsements
“This is an impressive collection of new work by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field.”
—Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, Northwestern University
“Among the most contested issues in contemporary American life are the prudential and constitutional notions of religious liberty and relationships between religion and the civil state. An all-star line-up of scholars have contributed thoughtful, richly researched, and accessible essays to The Cambridge Companion to the First Amendment and Religious Liberty, ably guiding the specialist and nonspecialist reader alike through the historical origins, philosophical considerations, and legal doctrines that have shaped constitutional conceptions of religious liberty in the American experience.”
—Daniel L. Dreisbach, Professor, School of Public Affairs, American University
Reviews
“This engaging and enlightening collection of papers by some of the field’s best thinkers describes and defends the longstanding practice in American law and life of distinguishing appropriately between religious and political authority while, at the same time, respecting religious conscience, recognizing religion as not only a private pursuit but also as a distinct public good, and encouraging cooperation between religious enterprises and secular governments in the service of shared human flourishing.”
—Richard W. Garnett, First Things
“A wonderful overview of religious liberty and church-state relations in America.”
—Mark David Hall, Law & Liberty
“This recent volume from the Cambridge Companions to Law offers a provocative and wide-ranging series of essays on the general topic of religious freedom. . . . They are engaging, well-written, and will serve as a valuable introduction for students as well as being a resource for scholars of law and religion, whether in the United States or abroad. . . . Overall, this is an excellent overview of a number of fundamental questions in the law of church and state. The volume is a welcome addition to scholarship on the historical and philosophical underpinnings of the First Amendment jurisprudence.”
—Scot M. Peterson, Journal of Church and State
“Whether one is already immersed in this literature or is trying to figure out where to begin, The Cambridge Companion to the First Amendment and Religious Liberty should be on the reading list. Michael Breidenbach and Owen Anderson have brought together an impressive group of scholars to survey the history, theory, and law of religious liberty in America. . . . An outstanding collection of voices that together affirm the importance of religious liberty, appreciate the complexities of its history, and are interested in rethinking its philosophical foundation. Along the way, it surveys the state of the field. It serves as both an excellent introduction to an enormous literature and an important contribution to the conversation.”
—Lael Weinberger, Canopy Forum
“A welcome addition to the burgeoning literature addressing current challenges to religious liberty. The fifteen distinguished contributors reflect perspectives ranging through philosophy, religious studies, history, political science, and law and legal philosophy. . . . This volume provides readers with a useful range of viewpoints on both the history of religious liberty in the U.S. and major contemporary controversies.”
—Emily R. Gill, Politics and Religion
Table of Contents
Introduction: Assessing the First Amendment and Religious Liberty in America
Michael D. Breidenbach and Owen Anderson
Part I Philosophical Foundations
1 The First Amendment and Natural Religion
Owen Anderson
2 The Philosophical Meaning of Religious Exercise
Janice Tzuling Chik
3 Freedom of Religion: Special, Valuable, and Qualified
John Finnis
Part II Historical Interpretations
4 Religious Exercise and Establishment in Early America
Glenn A. Moots
5 The Historical Context of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment
Chris Beneke
6 Religious Tests, Loyalty Oaths, and the Ecclesiastical Context of the First Amendment
Michael D. Breidenbach
7 Church and State in the Nineteenth Century
Jonathan Den Hartog
8 The First Amendment Religion Clauses in the United States Supreme Court
Zoë Robinson
Part III Law, Politics, and Economics
Religious and Secular Presuppositions in First Amendment Interpretations
Paul E. Kerry
10 Two Concepts of Religious Liberty: The Natural Rights and Moral Autonomy Approaches to the Free Exercise of Religion
Vincent Phillip Muñoz
11 The Economic Origins of Religious Liberty
Anthony Gill
12 Corporate Religious Liberty and the Culture Wars
Steven D. Smith
13 Which Original Meaning of the Establishment Clause Is the Right One?
Donald L. Drakeman
14 The Two Separations
Marc O. DeGirolami
15 The Challenge Ahead: Reconnecting Religion, Reason, and Truth
Gerard V. Bradley
Citations
William N. Eskridge, Jr. and Robin Fretwell Wilson, eds., Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019)
John F. Wilson and Donald L. Drakeman, eds., Church and State in American History: Key Documents, Decisions, and Commentary From the Past Three Centuries, 4th Edition (Abingdon: Routledge, 2020)
Paul Marshall, “Can For-Profit Corporations Be Religious?” Religious Freedom Institute, July 25, 2020
Mark Storslee, “Church Taxes and the Original Understanding of the Establishment Clause,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2020)
Donald L. Drakeman, The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory: Why We Need the Framers (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021)
Paul Marshall, “Institutional Religious Freedom: An Overview and Defense,” Religions 12, no. 5 (2021)
Carl H. Esbeck, “The Establishment Clause: Its Original Public Meaning and What We Can Learn From the Plain Text,” Federalist Society Review 22 (2021)
U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Curiae Brief, Shurtleff vs. City of Boston, November 22, 2021
Seth Barrett Tillman, “What Oath (If Any) Did Jacob Henry Take in 1809?: Deconstructing the Historical Myths,” American Journal of Legal History 61, no. 4 (December 2021): 349–84
Carl H. Esbeck, “An Extended Essay on Church Autonomy and the First Amendment,” Federalist Society Review 22 (2021)
U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Curiae Brief, Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District, March 1, 2022
Paul Silas Peterson, “The Public Sphere of Democracy and the Wisdom Tradition,” Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society, 8, no. 1 (2022): 133–58
Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022)
Lael Weinberger, “The Limits of Church Autonomy,” Notre Dame Law Review 98 (2023)
Donald L. Drakeman, “Why Do We Think the Framers Wanted to Separate Church and State?” in The Palgrave Handbook of Religion and State: Volume II, ed. Shannon Holzer (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023)
Jake Linford, Justin Sevier, and Allyson Willis, “Trademark Tarnishmyths,” Arizona State Law Journal 55, no. 2 (2023)
Donald L. Drakeman, review of Nathan Chapman and Michael McConnell, Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience in Federalist Society Review 24 (2023)
Wisam Abughosh Chaleila, “‘Mahometanism’: A Case of Father Bombo’s
Pilgrimage to Mecca,” Cogent Arts & Humanities 11, no. 1 (2024)
Daniel Philpott, “Why Religious Freedom is a Human Right,” The American Journal of Jurisprudence (2024)
Marc O. De Girolami, “The Death and New Life of Law and Religion,” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion (2024)
Featured