This important volume disentangles humanity's longstanding problem, which is to understand better the interrelatedness and disengagement between religion and social structures. Professor Clark challenges one to ponder: Does religion produce social beings; or, do social beings erect frameworks of human interaction and engagement undergirded by biased ethical principles? This book helps one flesh out such concerns.

DeWayne R. Stallworth, American Baptist College

In a diverse and religiously pluralistic society, where do people find the ethical principles that provide the foundation for a truly democratic republic? Theologian, ethicist, and legal scholar W. Royce Clark contends that the Framers of America's founding documents and recent decisions of the Supreme Court reveal the need for a more inclusive ethic based upon secular principles that elicit broad and voluntary support. This thought-provoking volume also raises important philosophical and theological questions for those seeking to gain political power and privilege in order to legislate morality based upon a religious ethic.

Daniel A. Rodriguez, Pepperdine University