Decentering Discussions on Religion and State

This volume explores dynamic conversations through history between individuals and communities over questions about religion and state. Divided into two sections, our authors begin with considerations on the separation of religion and state, as well as Roger Williams' concept of religious freedom. Authors in the first half consider nuanced debates centered on emerging narratives, with particular emphasis on Native America, Early Americans, and experiences in American immigration after Independence. The first half of the volume examines voices in American History as they publicly engage with notions of secular ideology. Discussions then shift as the volume broadens to world perspectives on religion-state relations. Authors consider critical questions of nation, religious identity and transnational narratives. The intent of this volume is to privilege new narratives about religion-state relations. Decentering discussions away from national narratives allows for emerging voices at the individual and community levels. This volume offers readers new openings through which to understand critical but overlooked interactions between individuals and groups of people with the state over questions about religion.

Sargon George Donabedis assistant professor of history at Roger Williams University.
Autumn Quezada-Grant is assistant professor of history at Roger Williams University.

Chapter 1: The Sectarian Friend: Elias Hicks and the Second Great Awakening Matt McCook
Chapter 2: "Their supervision was temporal not ecclesiastical": The Establishment of Marshpee Parish, 1834-1840 Nicole Breault
Chapter 3: "It Forbids You the Right to Do Right": The First Amendment Critique of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law James Tackach
Chapter 4: "Soul Libertie" versus the Sons and Daughters of Eire: The Irish Catholic Immigrant in Rhode Island Debra A. Mulligan
Chapter 5: Altering Landscapes: French-Canadian Catholics and Ethnic-Styled Unionism in Woonsocket, Rhode Island Louise M. Doire
Chapter 6: Stories the State Tells Itself: The Supreme Court and "Religion" Since 1947 Michael Graziano
Chapter 7: Tempest in a Teacup: Warping the Church-State Divide Kristen Shedd
Chapter 8: Fighting the Winds of Change: Texas Baptists and the Separation of Church and State, 1970-1985 Blake Ellis
Chapter 9: Silence and the City: Political Theology and Occupy Wall Street Jordan E. MillerChapter 10: Visions of al-Quds: Fragments of a Palestinian Imagination Ryan M. Hammack
Chapter 11: Confronting the "Normative Abyss": The Challenges and Resources in Catholic Ethics for the Global Age Daniel J. Daly
Chapter 12: Political Functions of Serbian Orthodox Church in United States of America (1945-1991) Marko Vekovic
Chapter 13: Sacred Confronts Profane: The Salafi Political Experience in Egypt, 2011-2013 Douglas H. Garrison
Chapter 14: Church-State Relations in the "New Egypt" Paul S. Rowe
Chapter 15: State-Sponsored Religion as Impediment to Assimilation and Immigration: A Look at Europe Tadeusz Kugler
Chapter 16: Preventing Religious Genocide: From the War in Biafra to the Torture Convention Hannibal Travis