Faith in American Public Life

Melissa Rogers, who previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, is Visiting Professor and Practitioner-in-Residence at Wake Forest University's School of Divinity and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Rogers holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Baylor University. She has received an honorary doctorate of divinity from both Wake Forest University and the John Leland Center for Theological Studies.

Introduction: Religion's Role in American Public Life 1. Religion and the Constitution: Historical Origins 2. Religion and the Constitution: Some Key Concepts and Cases 3. Faith and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: The Role of Religion in the White House 4. Religion, Policy, and Politics: Barring Religious Tests Protecting Rights to Engage in Policy and Politics 5. Religious Expression on Government Property: Prohibiting Government Speech Endorsing Religion Protecting Nongovernmental Religious Speech 6. Government Partnerships with Faith-Based: Organizations Creating Partnerships to Serve People in Need 7. Faith and Federal Funds: Supporting Secular, Not Religious, Activities 8. Religious Exemptions and Accommodations: Balancing Claims of Conscience with Other Interests 9. Faith and the Workplace: Respecting Religious Freedom in Employment 10. Religious Discrimination and Hate Crimes: Fighting Hatred and Bias Protecting Freedom and Pluralism Conclusion: A Crossroads for Faith in American Public Life

In Faith in American Public Life, Rogers recognizes the delicate balance provided by the United States Constitution and judiciary to provide an environment for the flourishing of faith, and she calls for all Americans to appreciate and protect thsi privilege of their democracy. --Daniel T. Crouch "Perspectives in Religious Studies" With the publication of Faith in American Public Life, Melissa Rogers has penned what should be required reading for all scholars and students of religion and politics. --Aaron D. Weaver "Baptist History and Heritage Journal" ... Rogers' more scholarly treatise is the book for political science professionals and academics in the fields of Constitutional Law, Civil Liberties, or Religion and Politics. And it is still quite accessible to general lay readers. --Joe P. Dunn "The Journal of Political Science" Rogers' book is an excellent guide to federal law and policies relevant to religion and public life in American history. The book walks the reader through the political and religious commitments latent in the American ethos by looking at key supreme Court cases and watershed events. Rogers subtly describes the philosophical commitments present in the earliest years of our country and as captured in the nation's founding documents, that being a liberalism that is free from any one conception of the good. --Nathaniel A. Warne "The Living Church" In this cultural moment, with hostility against religious minorities on the rise and Christian supremacy often conflated with free speech, we very much need works like Faith in American Public Life. The safety of our neighbors--not to mention the stability of our democracy--relies on the kind of clear-eyed and reasonable account Melissa Rogers provides. --Clint Schnekloth "Christian Century"