Religion and Politics in the United States

Religion and Politics in the United States, Fifth Edition, offers a comprehensive account of the role of religious ideas, institutions, and communities in American public life. While maintaining that religion is too politically potent to be left out or consigned to the margins in accounts of American politics, Wald and Calhoun-Brown also argue against the common tendency to treat religion as the dominant force in politics today. Early topics include the nature and persistence of religion in the United States, its contribution to the Founding, and the continuing debate over the role of religion in government and law. Following a discussion of how religious factors encourage political action, the book concludes by discussing basic political attitudes and behavior among members of mainstream American religious traditions and minority religious communities defined by ethnicity, race, gender, and sexual orientation. The new edition greatly expands coverage of various religious minorities with a new chapter on politics and religion among African-Americans, Latinos, Muslim Americans, Latter Day Saints (Mormons), and other faith traditions. There is larger focus on how religion influences the politics of local communities.