Hallowed Ground

Makes a lively and convincing case that a pragmatic American way in religion is arising in response to challenges unmet by any other public or private entity. -- Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of God: A Biography Why can't we practice religion in a way that doesn't divide community and country? The free exercise of religion is central to the First Amendment, but increasing activism of religious conservatives has raised new concerns about separation of church and state....
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Makes a lively and convincing case that a pragmatic American way in religion is arising in response to challenges unmet by any other public or private entity. -- Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of God: A Biography Why can't we practice religion in a way that doesn't divide community and country? The free exercise of religion is central to the First Amendment, but increasing activism of religious conservatives has raised new concerns about separation of church and state. Hallowed Ground compellingly argues that the solution lies in making better use of an emerging moral middle, a flourishing group of Americans who do share the concern of religious conservatives about a crisis of values, but who are put off by what they perceive as intolerance and prejudice. Mr. Stephen Burgard, a journalist with an interest in the cultural impact of religious values, goes beyond the predictable collision of ideologues. He sets the provocative debate in the context of mainstream America's search for a new and more meaningful way of expressing religious values in a multiethnic society. This is a refreshingly unbiased book that will engage all readers interested in religion, and professionals in humanistic psychology, political science, sociology, ethics, and clinical psychology.