Legal History Commons^™

"Render Unto Caesar...": Religion/Ethics, Expertise, And The Historical Underpinnings Of The Modern American Tax System, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A variety of scholars and commentators have been recently exploring the connections between religion and current U.S. tax policy. The relationship between religion and American taxation, however, runs much deeper than our present period. Indeed, it is no coincidence that roughly a century ago the foundations of our current tax system were taking shape at the height of the religious and ethical fervor known as the Social Gospel movement. At that time, religious and ethical sentiments played a central, though ambivalent, role in fiscal reform. This Article investigates the influence of religious and ethical values on the tax reform struggles …