Please Don't Wish Me a Merry Christmas: A Critical History of the Separation of Church and State Revised Edition Contributor(s): Feldman, Stephen M. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0814726844 ISBN-13: 9780814726846 Publisher: New York University Press OUR PRICE: $30.40 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 1998 Annotation: Nearly all discussions regarding the role of religion in American life build on two dominant assumptions: first, the separation of church and state is a constitutional principle that promotes democracy and equally protects the religious freedom of all Americans, especially religious outgroups; and second, this principle emerges as a uniquely American contribution to political theory. In Please Don't Wish Me a Merry Christmas, Stephen M. Feldman challenges both these assumptions. He argues that the separation of church and state primarily manifests and reinforces Christian domination in American society. Furthermore, Feldman reveals that the separation of church and state did not first arise in America, either at the time of the constitutional framing or later. In challenging the dominant story of the separation of church and state, Please Don't Wish Me a Merry Christmas follows the historical path of two institutions - the Christian church and the state - from the origins of Christianity forward to the present day. Feldman thus focuses on the workings of power in a specific context: he interprets the development of Christian social power vis-a-vis the state and religious minorities, particularly the prototypical religious outgroup, Jews. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Religion | Religion, Politics & State - Law | Constitutional - Law | Legal History |
Dewey: 322.109 |
LCCN: 96035601 |
Series: Critical America |
Physical Information: 1.02" H x 5.86" W x 8.97" (1.17 lbs) 408 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Whether in the form of Christmas trees in town squares or prayer in school, fierce disputes over the separation of church and state have long bedeviled this country. Both decried and celebrated, this principle is considered by many, for right or wrong, a defining aspect of American national identity. |
Contributor Bio(s): Feldman, Stephen M.: - Stephen M. Feldman is Jerry W. Housel/Carl F. Arnold Distinguished Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Wyoming. His previous titles include Please Don't Wish Me a Merry Christmas: A Critical History of the Separation of Church and State (NYU Press, 1997) and Law and Religion: A Critical Anthology (NYU Press, 2000). |