God vs. the Gavel
The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty

This book sets the record straight about the United States' move toward extreme religious liberty and argues for a return to common-sense religious liberty.

Marci A. Hamilton (Author)

9781107456556, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 September 2014

496 pages
22.8 x 16.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.65 kg

'… a must-read for anyone interested in the changes in relations between religion and the state in late twentieth and early twenty-first century US law. Hamilton opens up the black box of religious organization, reminding us that oppression, domination, inequality, and abuse can occur in every context in which power is absolute and unquestioned, and that includes the religious. Assessed through the lens of court decisions and doctrine, she shows that politicized religious groups allied with one another are shifting the balance of power in the United States: the scales are tipped dangerously in favor of the institutional power of religious entities while the rights of the less powerful are left without protection. This is a sobering account of the risks posed by political religion … Fascinating, terrifically well informed, and well argued. This book shows that we cannot remain complacent about the religious right but must fight to protect our civil liberties against all intolerance, especially when it is labeled religious.' Jean Cohen, Nell and Herbert M. Singer Professor of Political Theory, Columbia University

Clergy sex abuse, polygamy, children dying from faith healing, companies that refuse to do business with same-sex couples, and residential neighborhoods forced to host homeless shelters - what do all of these have in common? They are all examples of religious believers harming others and demanding religious liberty regardless of the harm. This book unmasks those responsible, explains how this new set of rights is not derived from the First Amendment and argues for a return to common-sense religious liberty. In straightforward, readable prose, God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty sets the record straight about the United States' move toward extreme religious liberty. More than half of this thoroughly revised second edition is new content, featuring a new introduction and epilogue and contemporary stories. All Americans need to read this book, before they or their friends and family are harmed by religious believers exercising their newfound rights.

Part I. Religious Liberty Is Not a License to Harm Others: 1. The problem
2. Children
3. Marriage
4. Religious land use and residential neighborhoods
5. Schools
6. The prisons and the military
7. The right to discriminate
Part II. The History and Doctrine behind Common-Sense Religious Liberty: 8. Ordered liberty: religious liberty and the Supreme Court
9. The decline of church autonomy and the rise of the no-harm rule
10. The path to the public good.

Subject Areas: Law & society [LAQ], Jurisprudence & general issues [LA]