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Public Life And Hostility To Religion, Frederick Mark Gedicks

Faculty Scholarship

Many who value the contributions of religion to American life have contended that American public life is hostile to religion. They perceive many of the Supreme Court's Religion Clause opinions as hostile to religion, and circulate anecdotes about the antireligious hostility of public life. Studies also suggest that some of the principle actors in American public life systematically marginalize religious viewpoints relative to secular ones. Nevertheless, others are baffled by the suggestion that public life discriminates against religion. These people note that religion is deeply (if controversially) involved in much of contemporary American politics, and dismiss anecdotes about such hostility …