Toward Benevolent Neutrality (5th edition, 1996), a longstanding favorite for professors of church-and-state relationships in the U.S., has been revised and updated by one original author, Robert B. Flowers, and two new ones, Melissa Rogers and Steven K. Green. Religious Freedom and the Supreme Court contains a new introduction clearly explaining specific ways the Court delineates the idea of religious freedom on a case-by-case basis. As clearly written as its predecessor, and as appropriate for the classroom, this new book contains explanations of more recent cases, decided by a contemporary Supreme Court. It is clear, relevant, and an essential text for the twenty-first century.
Ronald B. Flowers (Ph.D. University of Iowa) is John F. Weatherly Emeritus Professor of Religion at Texas Christian University. Flowers is the author of That Godless Court: Supreme Court Decisions on Church-State Relationships (2005).
Melissa Rogers (J.D. University of Pennsylvania School of Law) is Visiting Professor of Religion and Public Policy and Director, Center for Religion and Public Affairs, at Wake Forest University Divinity School. She is the author of Faith in American Public Life (2019).
Steven K. Green (J.D. University of Texas, Ph.D. University of North Carolina) is Professor of Law and Director, Center for Religion, Law and Democracy, Willamette University.
This volume is hefty and comprehensive but also straightforward, accessible, and well organized.... Perceptive study questions point the reader toward both open questions and animating premises.... recommended.
-- "First Things"