A flood of new books of interest have been published this fall:
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, in a new book strongly defends the separation of church and state. He argues that blurring the line between government and religion by rigid fundamentalists threatens civil liberties and privacy. The book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, draws on Carter's experiences as a president and a Christian. An excerpt from the book is available online, as is an audio recording of Carter's interview with National Public Radio's Terry Gross.
James H. Huston, The Founders on Religion: A Book of Quotations, is an impartial compendium of the founders' own remarks on religious matters, from Princeton University Press.
Peter Zagorin, How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West, traces the roots of religious persecution in certain intellectual and religious traditions, and shows how out of the same traditions came the beginnings of pluralism in the West. From Princeton University Press.
Robert Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity, looks not only at how we have adapted to diversity in the past, but at the ways rank-and-file Americans, clergy, and other community leaders are responding today. From Princeton University Press. A review of the book by Gary Rosen was published in the New York Times.
Jerry Weinberger, Benjamin Franklin Unmasked: On the Unity of His Moral Religious, and Political Thought, from University Press of Kansas. Weinberger discovers a serious thinker who was profoundly critical of religion, moral virtue, and political ideals.
Justus Weiner, Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society, from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Weiner finds that Christians who remain in territory governed by the P.A. are a beleaguered minority.
