Religion in the Public Square

"Patterson's work fills a necessary gap in scholarly examinations of religion and public life. It is balanced in its treatment of the subject matter while advocating that the rise of the Religious Right signaled a reversal of the role that the clergy played in American life for most of its history. If American religion, now rapidly in decline, has any hope of revitalization, Patterson is right to note that it will come through a renewed attention to its own foundations and their relevance to public life, and not a reliance on either complete withdrawal from the public sphere nor direct political action as the vehicle of religious 'success.'" ~Reception: Texts, Readers, Audiences, History

"This provocative volume brings together three religious leaders that make for an odd grouping: Fulton Sheen, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jerry Falwell. Patterson argues that these three men strained against the boundary between religion and politics in the United States, which finally collapsed under the pressure placed on church–state separation by Falwell’s religious right...Patterson uncovers some of the deft theological moves these three figures made in order to bring religion to bear on a liberal democracy. They demonstrate the primacy of the church in ministerial politics and suggest that the one constant in church–state relationships is a perversion of both institutions." ~Journal of Church and State

"

Patterson takes the reader on an in-depth exploration of three public figures who exemplify both the

promise and the peril of clergy in American public life: Fulton J. Sheen, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jerry Falwell. Patterson skillfully places each man’s life and career into their political and theological milieus, making creative use of existing frameworks like the American jeremiad, civil religion, and Hugh Heclo’s 'Great Denouement.'...[L]ucidly argued and clearly organized, and shed[s] a great deal of light on both the individual figures and their broader cultural and political contexts.

" ~The Journal of Southern History

"

[A] thoughtful study...well worth reading...to remind readers of how significant a figure Sheen was

over a long period of time, and how Falwell’s often despised efforts fit within a longer tradition of Christianity’s diverse voice within the public square of American society.

" ~Commonweal

"Informative and provocative, Religion in the Public Square is original in its interpretations and judicious in its assessments. James M. Patterson makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the role of preachers and public religion in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century" ~Robert Kraynak, Colgate University