by Erwin Chemerinsky & Howard Gillman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2020
A well-argued book geared toward those with an interest in the intersection of law and religion.
A dispassionate exposition in favor of the separation of church and state.
Noting that the current structure of the Supreme Court is tilted toward an accommodationist view of the First Amendment, which tends to side with conservatives and religious majorities, legal experts Chemerinsky and Gillman take the initiative to offer a differing view. “Our thesis,” they write, “is that the Constitution meant to create, and should be interpreted as creating, a secular republic, meaning that the government has no role in advancing religion and that religious belief and practice should be a private matter.” The authors begin with an examination of how the framers of the Constitution viewed the relationship between church and state. Despite traditions to the contrary, they write, “the framers resisted strong pressure to declare that the American republic would formally be associated with Christianity. There is no doubt that they intended to create a government that was formally secular.” Though declaring themselves not to be “originalists,” the authors work from the assumption that the founders sought specifically to create a secular government and that such a government has served America best through time. They work systematically, first through the Establishment Clause and then the Free Exercise Clause, explaining the background to each clause and various court cases that have shaped the public understanding of them, before then examining their own separationist views regarding each. Chemerinsky and Gillman end with a counter to the argument that separation of church and state is often a guise for hostility to religion; instead, they write, separation is a means of protecting all religions. Written in what can best be described as a relaxed legal style, the book is largely accessible but will appeal most to attorneys and those intrigued by the Constitution and the Supreme Court.
A well-argued book geared toward those with an interest in the intersection of law and religion.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-19-069973-4
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
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by Judith Butler ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2024
A master class in how gender has been weaponized in support of conservative values and authoritarian regimes.
A deeply informed critique of the malicious initiatives currently using gender as a political tool to arouse fear and strengthen political and religious institutions.
In their latest book, following The Force of Nonviolence, Butler, the noted philosopher and gender studies scholar, documents and debunks the anti-gender ideology of the right, the core principle of which is that male and female are natural categories whose recognition is essential for the survival of the family, nations, and patriarchal order. Its proponents reject “sex” as a malleable category infused with prior political and cultural understandings. By turning gender into a “phantasmatic scene,” they enable those in positions of authority to deflect attention from such world-destroying forces as war, predatory capitalism, and climate change. Butler explores the ideology’s presence in the U.S., the U.K., Uganda, and Hungary, countries where legislation has limited the rights of trans and homosexual people and denied them their sexual identity. The author also delves into the ideology’s roots among Evangelicals and the Catholic Church and such political leaders as Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán. Butler is particularly bothered by trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), who treat trans women as “male predators in disguise.” For the author, “the gap between the perceived or lived body and prevailing social norms can never be fully closed.” They imagine “a world where the many relations to being socially embodied that exist become more livable” and calls for alliances across differences and “a radical democracy informed by socialist values.” Butler compensates for the thinness of some of their recommendations with an astute dissection of the ideology’s core ideas and impressive grasp of its intellectual pretensions. This is a wonderfully thoughtful and impassioned book on a critically important centerpiece of contemporary authoritarianism and patriarchy.
A master class in how gender has been weaponized in support of conservative values and authoritarian regimes.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780374608224
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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by Marilynne Robinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2024
In this highly learned yet accessible book, Robinson offers believers fresh insight into a well-studied text.
A deeply thoughtful exploration of the first book of the Bible.
In this illuminating work of biblical analysis, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Robinson, whose Gilead series contains a variety of Christian themes, takes readers on a dedicated layperson’s journey through the Book of Genesis. The author meanders delightfully through the text, ruminating on one tale after another while searching for themes and mining for universal truths. Robinson approaches Genesis with a reverence and level of faith uncommon to modern mainstream writers, yet she’s also equipped with the appropriate tools for cogent criticism. Throughout this luminous exegesis, which will appeal to all practicing Christians, the author discusses overarching themes in Genesis. First is the benevolence of God. Robinson points out that “to say that God is the good creator of a good creation” sets the God of Genesis in opposition to the gods of other ancient creation stories, who range from indifferent to evil. This goodness carries through the entirety of Genesis, demonstrated through grace. “Grace tempers judgment,” writes the author, noting that despite well-deserved instances of wrath or punishment, God relents time after time. Another overarching theme is the interplay between God’s providence and humanity’s independence. Across the Book of Genesis, otherwise ordinary people make decisions that will affect the future in significant ways, yet events are consistently steered by God’s omnipotence. For instance, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, and that action has reverberated throughout the history of all Jewish people. Robinson indirectly asks readers to consider where the line is between the actions of God and the actions of creation. “He chose to let us be,” she concludes, “to let time yield what it will—within the vast latitude granted by providence.”
In this highly learned yet accessible book, Robinson offers believers fresh insight into a well-studied text.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780374299408
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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