Church and State: Lutheran Perspectives

In an age marked by controversy over public support of religious schools, federal encouragement of religious providers of social services, and sexuality education, the whole arena of church-state relations appears in flux.

In this volume, seven experts probe the meaning of religion in public life for Christians when the Protestant establishment has given way to pervasive religious pluralism and a growing secularism. Working specifically out of Lutheran traditions, the authors probe the deeper legal, moral, and religious questions at issue in the current debate. They not only rethink classical sources about law and gospel and two-kingdoms theory but also resurrect neglected resources for Christian civil resistance. They then look to contemporary developments and show how functional interaction of church and state is compatible with their strong institutional separation. Finally, three chapters probe the most hotly contested First Amendment questions: religious liberty, education, and land use.