Journal of Church and State articles from June 2001

Journal of Church and State archives from June 2001

President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: boon or boondoggle?
June 22, 2001... On 29 January 2001, nine days after his inauguration as the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush issued a proposal to provide government money for churches and other houses of worship that offer social services for Americans in...

From Oslo to Bethlehem: Arafat's Islamic message.
June 22, 2001... When town after town of the West Bank and Gaza passed into Palestinian Authority (PA) hands following the Oslo II Agreement (1995) that was designed to facilitate the transition from Israeli occupation to Palestinian self-rule, Yasser Arafat,...

"A clear and steady channel": Isaac Backus and the limits of liberty.
June 22, 2001... "... we all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing." Abraham Lincoln In recent years, scholarship on revolutionary America has focused increased attention on the genre of the political sermon,...

Life, the universe and everything constitutional: origins in the public schools.
June 22, 2001... Despite nearly a hundred years of legislative and legal battles, the creation/evolution debate seems no nearer resolution than it was at the close of the Scopes monkey trial in that sultry summer of 1925.(1) If anything, the debate has heated...

The "prevailing religion" in Greece: its meaning and implications.
June 22, 2001... In the section dealing with ecclesiastical matters, Greek legal textbooks have traditionally noted that the right to religious liberty guaranteed in the various Greek constitutions is not absolute but relative due to the existence of a...

The persecution of West Virginia Jehovah's Witnesses and the expansion of legal protection for religious liberty.
June 22, 2001... INTRODUCTION: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY Few Americans are aware of the valuable contribution Jehovah's Witnesses have made to our nation's laws. A mention of them brings to mind the picture of persistent, sometime annoying,...

Jehovah's Witnesses and the responsibility of religious freedom: the European experience.
June 22, 2001... A consideration of the religious organization known as Jehovah's Witnesses and the treatment they have received from mainstream religions, judicial systems, anti-cult movements, and the media presents an interesting study of the tensions...

The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and State Power in Jordan.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and State Power in Jordan. By Quintan Wiktorowicz. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2000. 205 pp. np. Quintan Wiktorowicz, a Research Fellow and Visiting...

The Churches, Southern Africa and the Political Context.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The Churches, Southern Africa and the Political Context. Edited by Gerhard Besier. Translated by Hugh Beyer. London. Minerva Press, 1999. 175 pp. np. Gerhard Besier's book examines the complexity and manner in which political and...

God and Government: The New Zealand Perspective.(Review)
June 22, 2001... God and Government: The New Zealand Perspective. Edited by Rex Ahdar and John Stenhouse. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press, 2000. 146 pp. np. Law and Religion. Edited by Rex Ahdar. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing, 2000. 229...

Liberty and Religion: Church and State in Leiden's Reformation, 1572-1620.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Liberty and Religion: Church and State in Leiden's Reformation, 1572-1620. By Christine Kooi, Boston, Mass.: E.J. Brill, 2000. 243 pp. np. The issues arising from the historiography of the "urban reformation" in the German territories has...

The Catholic Church in Spain: 1875-1998.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The Catholic Church in Spain, 1875-1998. By William J. Callahan. Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1998. 695 pp. $49.95. Professor Callahan's study of modern Spanish Catholicism is sweeping in scope, and he should...

France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart: An Epic Tale for Modern Times.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart: An Epic Tale for Modern Times. By Raymond Jonas. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 2000. 308 pp. $40.00. Most visits to Paris include a stop at the basilica of Sacre-Coeur, the...

Of Religion and Empire: Missions, Conversion, and Tolerance in Tsarist Russia.(Review)
June 22, 2001... Of Religion and Empire: Missions, Conversion, and Tolerance in Tsarist Russia. Edited by Robert P. Geraci and Michael Khodarkovsky. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2001. 356 pp. $21.95 paper. Too often, works dealing with Orthodox...

Secret Dialogues: Church-State Relations, Torture, and Social Justice in Authoritarian Brazil.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Secret Dialogues: Church-State Relations, Torture, and Social Justice in Authoritarian Brazil. By Kenneth P. Serbin. Pittsburg, Pa.: University of Pittsburg Press, 2000. 312 pp. np. This book examines the role of a secret commission, called...

The Lord's Distant Vineyard: A History of the Oblates and the Catholic Community in British Columbia.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The Lord's Distant Vineyard: A History of the Oblates and the Catholic Community in British Columbia. By Vincent McNally. Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2000. 443 pages. $34.95 cloth, $27.95 paper. "At this moment in the...

Voices of the Religious Left: A Contemporary Sourcebook.(Review)
June 22, 2001... Voices of the Religious Left: A Contemporary Sourcebook. Edited by Rebecca T. Alpert. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press. 2000. 294 pp. np. Religion often seems to represent traditionalism or the status quo. In recent years, the...

William Louis Poteat: A Leader of the Progressive-Era South.(Review)
June 22, 2001... William Louis Poteat: A Leader of the Progressive-Era South. By Randal L. Hall. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2000. 262 pp. np. This is a fine book on a worthy subject written by a talented young historian. It is part...

Rational Mothers and Infidel Gentlemen: Gender and American Atheism, 1865-1915.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Rational Mothers and Infidel Gentlemen: Gender and American Atheism, 1865-1915. By Evelyn A. Kirkley. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2000. 198 pp. $39.95 cloth; $19.95 paper. The history of American freethought is an intriguing...

Seduced by Science: How American Religion Has Lost Its Way.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Seduced by Science: How American Religion Has Lost Its Way. By Steven Goldberg. New York: New York University Press, 1999. 220 pp. np. The author criticizes religious leaders for presenting their arguments on public issues using the...

Quality with Soul: How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep Faith with Their Religious Traditions.(Review)
June 22, 2001... Quality with Soul: How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep Faith with Their Religious Traditions. By Robert Benne. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001. xii + 217 pp. $19.00 paper. Over the past decade, numerous books...

For Goodness' Sake: Why So Many Want Religion to Play a Greater Role in American Life.(Review)
June 22, 2001... For Goodness' Sake: Why So Many Want Religion to Play a Greater Role in American Life. By Steve Farkas, Jean Johnson, and Tony Foleno, with Ann Duffett and Patrick Foley. New York: Public Agenda, 2001. 58 pp. $10.00. Is there a gap between...

God in the Movies.(Review)
June 22, 2001... God in the Movies. By Albert J. Bergesen and Andrew M. Greeley. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2000. 177 pp. + index. $29.95. God in the Movies is a theological exploration through film guided by Albert J. Bergesen, professor...

Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right. Edited by Jeffrey Kaplan. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, 2000. 585 pp. np. This important volume consists of a 20-page introduction, followed by an A-Z listing...

Waves of Rancor: Tuning in the Radical Right.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Waves of Rancor: Tuning in the Radical Right. By Robert Hilliard and Michael Keith. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1999. 278 pp. np. In the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the rhetoric and violence of the radical right in American...

Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Vincent Cornell, Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism. Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 1998, 424 pp. Premodern Moroccan Sufism understood sainthood to entail not only a bond to the Divine but also the exercise...

Constitutionalizing Globalization: The Postmodern Revival of Confederal Arrangements.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Daniel J. Elazar. Constitutionalizing Globalization: The Postmodern Revival of Confederal Arrangements. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Pub. Inc., 1998. In Constitutionalizing Globalization, Daniel Elazar explores the impact that the...

A Moral Vision for America.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, A Moral Vision for America. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown UP, 1998. This collection of public addresses by the influential and admired late archbishop of Chicago offers insight on issues ranging from American...

Pluralism and Consensus: Conceptions of the Good in the American Polity.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Christopher Beem, Pluralism and Consensus: Conceptions of the Good in the American Polity. Chicago, Ill.: Center for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1998. In this slim but substantial volume, Christopher Beem addresses perhaps the most...

The Western Church in the Middle Ages.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... John A. F. Thomson. The Western Church in the Middle Ages. London: Arnold, 1998. This latest textbook on the church in the Middle Ages is an attempt to subject students of church history to the "mental world" of this period. Focusing on...

Caring for Future Generations: Jewish, Christian and Islamic Perspectives.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Emmanuel Agius and Lionel Chircop, eds. Caring for Future Generations: Jewish, Christian and Islamic Perspectives. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1998. This collection of essays arose from an interreligious conference of Mediterranean scholars...

Protestantism and National Identity: Britain and Ireland, c. 1650-c. 1850.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Tony Claydon and Ian McBride, eds. Protestantism and National Identity: Britain and Ireland, c. 1650-c. 1850. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. This collection of essays, as the title suggests, explores the connections between religion and...

A Pilgrim's Way.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Walter C. Righter. A Pilgrim's Way. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. In this book, Righter, a former bishop in the Episcopal Church, tells the story of his 1990 decision to ordain a gay priest in New Jersey and the firestorm of criticism...

Equal Treatment of Religion in a Pluralistic Society.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Stephen V. Monsma and J. Christopher Soper, eds. Equal Treatment of Religion in a Pluralistic Society. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998. An interpretation of the Constitution's Establishment Clause based on the concept of...

Moving Mountains: The Principles and Purposes of Leon Sullivan.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Leon H. Sullivan. Moving Mountains: The Principles and Purposes of Leon Sullivan. Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1998. In this book, Leon Sullivan tells the remarkable story of his rise from being a poor preacher in the coal mining...

Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Douglas Allen. Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998. Douglas Allen, the foremost scholar of Eliade, attempts a reconstruction of Eliade's thought on myth. In his reconstruction, Mien is able to...

Demons by Definition: Social Idealism, Religious Nationalism, and the Demonizing of Dissent.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... David K. O'Rourke. Demons by Definition: Social Idealism, Religious Nationalism, and the Demonizing of Dissent. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. Social idealism, the drive to make society a better place, must first move those people...

Torah and Constitution: Essays in American Jewish Thought.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Milton R. Konvitz. Torah and Constitution: Essays in American Jewish Thought. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse UP, 1998. According to a passage in the Talmud, writes Konvitz, Torah can be interpreted in seventy different ways. In this work,...

A History of Christianity.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Owen Chadwick. A History of Christianity. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. Filled with hundreds of illustrations, photographs, and examples of Christian art, Chadwick's sweeping survey is very pleasing to the eye. It is also more...

World Christianity and Marxism.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Denis R. Janz. World Christianity and Marxism. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. The genius of Christianity, Adolph yon Harnack hypothesized, is its ability to absorb its most dangerous enemies into itself. Of course, in absorbing its enemies,...

Seize the Book, Jail the Author: Johann Lorenz Schmidt and Censorship in Eighteenth Century Germany.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Paul Spalding. Seize the Book, Jail the Author: Johann Lorenz Schmidt and Censorship in Eighteenth Century Germany. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue UP, 1998. This book tells the relatively obscure--but, as Spalding argues, significant--story...

Toward a Jewish (M)Orality: Speaking of a Postmodern Jewish Ethics.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Daniel Breslauer. Toward a Jewish (M)Orality: Speaking of a Postmodern Jewish Ethics. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Contemporary Jewish ethics, writes Breslauer, must face up to the two defining events of the Jewish twentieth...

Called for Freedom.(Review)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Jose Comblin. Called for Freedom. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1998. After providing a succinct analysis of the postmodern world, where a breakdown has occurred in the political, especially with the demise of socialism, and a resurgence...