At a time when faith-based groups have become more politically active in the United States, and with religious conflicts at the epicenter of many of the world's most dangerous hotspots, "Religion and the State: An International Analysis of Roles and Relationships" could not be more welcomed or timely. Country by country, faith by faith, it unravels the historic underpinnings and long-range effects of the relationship between religious principles and the operations of government in its many guises worldwide.

The work combines topical essays on significant developments in the confluence...

Can religion be used to legalize discrimination? When does religion exclude a person or corporation from having to follow a federal or state law, and does our government automatically favor one faith over another when allowing such exemptions? How "religious" must an activity be to qualify as exempt? These are just a few of the difficult questions addressed in When Religious and Secular Interests Collide: Faith, Law, and the Religious Exemption Debate, one of the most modern resources for looking at religion and the law, both historically and in the present. This book enables...