ABSTRACT
Overview What should be the role of religion, if any, in the public life of the United States? In Chapter 1 we saw how religion and politics were intertwined in the colonial beginnings of this country. In Chapter 2 we saw that the Founders held differing views on exactly what this role should be. In Chapters 3 and 4 we saw that religion has played a highly visible role in many significant public issues, both past and present. Chapters 5 and 6 examined significant Supreme Court cases, as well as legislation, that have helped to define the role that religion can play in public life. Chapter 7 surveyed the attitudes of the public and of elites regarding this issue. Chapters 8 and 9 examined the ways in which religious and political attitudes are intertwined among white and black Americans. Chapter 10 de-
scribed the role that religious interest groups play in the American political system.
