Secular Conversions
Political Institutions and Religious Education in the United States and Australia, 1800–2000

This book reveals how taken-for-granted political structures have shaped the fate of religion in Australian and American public life.

Damon Mayrl (Author)

9781107503236, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 August 2016

298 pages, 3 b/w illus. 3 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.43 kg

'… a significant contribution to the study of comparative state-religion relations. Its robust theoretical foundation makes the book relevant for researchers and graduate courses. Mayrl's engaging empirical content and accessible style make it appropriate for the policy community and undergraduate students as well.' Ramazan K?l?nç, Sociology of Religion

Why does secularization proceed differently in otherwise similar countries? Secular Conversions demonstrates that the institutional structure of the state is a key factor shaping the course of secularization. Drawing upon detailed historical analysis of religious education policy in the United States and Australia, Damon Mayrl details how administrative structures, legal procedures, and electoral systems have shaped political opportunities and even helped create constituencies for secular policies. In so doing, he also shows how a decentralized, readily accessible American state acts as an engine for religious conflict, encouraging religious differences to spill into law and politics at every turn. This book provides a vivid picture of how political conflicts interacted with the state over the long span of American and Australian history to shape religion's role in public life. Ultimately, it reveals that taken-for-granted political structures have powerfully shaped the fate of religion in modern societies.

List of figures and tables
Acknowledgments
List of acronyms
Introduction
1. Politics, institutions, and secularization
Part I. Forging the Nineteenth-Century Settlement, 1800–80: 2. State-building and secularization in comparative perspective
Part II. The Nineteenth-Century Settlement in Transition, 1880–1945: Preface to Part II
3. Slow secularization in the permeable American state
4. Settlement stability in the insulated Australian state
Part III. Forging the Twentieth-Century Settlement, 1945–2000: Preface to Part III
5. Secularization and the courts in postwar America
6. Desecularization and electoral institutions in postwar Australia
Part IV. Implications: 7. Conclusion
Epilogue. Toward a twenty-first century settlement?
Index.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Sociology [JHB], Religious issues & debates [HRAM]