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The Challenge of Pluralism: Church and State in Six Democracies
The Challenge of Pluralism Church and State in Six Democracies Author:J. Christopher Soper, Kevin R. den Dulk, Stephen V. Monsma In a thoroughly revised and expanded edition that now includes France, this essential text offers a rigorous, systematic comparison of church-state relations in six democracies: the United States, France, the Netherlands, Australia, England, and Germany. As successful and stable political democracies, these countries share a commitment to protec... more »ting the religious rights of their citizens. The book demonstrates, however, that each has taken substantially different approaches to resolving basic church-state questions. The authors examine the historical roots of those differences, explain how each state addresses contemporary church-state issues, and provide a framework for judging their success in protecting the religious rights of citizens of all faiths and of none. Providing clarity on the little-understood, evolving relationship between church and state in the West, this book provides an invaluable comparative analysis of a topic that is increasingly a source of profound political and social conflict. The authors conclude that the American conception of church-state separation, with its emphasis on avoiding government establishment of religion, is unique among political democracies and discriminates against religious groups by denying religious organizations access to government services provided to other organizations. They persuasively argue that the United States can learn a great deal from other Western nations in promoting religious neutrality and the free exercise of religion.« less