Trumping Religion
The New Christian Right, the Free Speech Clause, and the Courts
The first scholarly treatment of the strategies employed by the New Christian Right in litigating cases regarding religion
Trumping Religion provides a detailed analysis of the five major public-interest law firms that have litigated religion cases in the federal courts between 1980 and 2000. Allied with several highly vocal, evangelical ministries, such as those of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robinson, these legal organizations argue that religious expression is a form of protected speech and thereby gain a greater latitude of interpretation in the courts. The long-term agenda of the New Christian Right as illuminated by this study is to shape church-state jurisprudence in a way that permits free course for the Christian gospel.
Steven P. Brown presents his research and conclusions from a balanced viewpoint. In filling a distinct void in the literature, this book will be of considerable interest to political scientists, legal scholars, law schools and seminaries, and anyone concerned with the intersection of religion and judicial politics.
In this well-researched work, Steven P. Brown examines the emergence, growth, and actions of the five main Christian Rights public interest law firms. . . . This book fills a significant gap in the scholarly literature on the Christian Right and should be on the reading list of anyone who studies that movement.’
—Perspectives on Politics
Brown makes a substantial contribution in his analysis of the New Christian Right’s legal activities, a subject about which much is heard but little known. His research explores how the religious Right learned from black, labor, civil libertarian, and feminist organizations how to achieve legal victories after their electoral and legislative moves failed. . . . Highly recommended.’
—CHOICE
‘Trumping Religion, which raises important questions about the interplay between religion and legal advocacy, is a springboard to further study into the ways religious beliefs and values shape and are shaped by the politics of law.’
—Review of Politics
