Decentering Discussions on Religion and State

Sargon George Donabed is assistant professor of history at Roger Williams University.Autumn Quezada-Grant is assistant professor of history at Roger Williams University.

This volume explores dynamic conversations through history between individuals and communities over questions about religion and state. Divided into two sections, our authors begin with considerations on the separation of religion and state, as well as Roger Williams' concept of religious freedom. Authors in the first half consider nuanced debates centered on emerging narratives, with particular emphasis on Native America, Early Americans, and experiences in American immigration after Independence. The first half of the volume examines voices in American History as they publicly engage with notions of secular ideology. Discussions then shift as the volume broadens to world perspectives on religion-state relations. Authors consider critical questions of nation, religious identity and transnational narratives. The intent of this volume is to privilege new narratives about religion-state relations. Decentering discussions away from national narratives allows for emerging voices at the individual and community levels. This volume offers readers new openings through which to understand critical but overlooked interactions between individuals and groups of people with the state over questions about religion.

Chapter 1: The Sectarian Friend: Elias Hicks and the Second Great Awakening Matt McCookChapter 2: "Their supervision was temporal not ecclesiastical": The Establishment of Marshpee Parish, 1834-1840 Nicole BreaultChapter 3: "It Forbids You the Right to Do Right": The First Amendment Critique of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law James TackachChapter 4: "Soul Libertie" versus the Sons and Daughters of Eire: The Irish Catholic Immigrant in Rhode Island Debra A. MulliganChapter 5: Altering Landscapes: French-Canadian Catholics and Ethnic-Styled Unionism in Woonsocket, Rhode Island Louise M. DoireChapter 6: Stories the State Tells Itself: The Supreme Court and "Religion" Since 1947 Michael GrazianoChapter 7: Tempest in a Teacup: Warping the Church-State Divide Kristen SheddChapter 8: Fighting the Winds of Change: Texas Baptists and the Separation of Church and State, 1970-1985 Blake EllisChapter 9: Silence and the City: Political Theology and Occupy Wall Street Jordan E. MillerChapter 10: Visions of al-Quds: Fragments of a Palestinian Imagination Ryan M. HammackChapter 11: Confronting the "Normative Abyss": The Challenges and Resources in Catholic Ethics for the Global Age Daniel J. DalyChapter 12: Political Functions of Serbian Orthodox Church in United States of America (1945-1991) Marko Vekovi¿Chapter 13: Sacred Confronts Profane: The Salafi Political Experience in Egypt, 2011-2013 Douglas H. GarrisonChapter 14: Church-State Relations in the "New Egypt" Paul S. RoweChapter 15: State-Sponsored Religion as Impediment to Assimilation and Immigration: A Look at Europe Tadeusz KuglerChapter 16: Preventing Religious Genocide: From the War in Biafra to the Torture Convention Hannibal Travis