This book examines the perspectives of American liberalism and conservatism in the new millennium-their general political and social philosophy and their positions in leading public issue areas-and evaluates them in light of Catholic social teaching. Before making that evaluation, it sets out the Church's teaching as it has been authoritatively set forth in documents from her Magisterium-especially the social encyclicals. It looks to recognized thinkers, writers, and spokesmen for each of the two ideologies to determine what their general philosophy is in six major, central areas: the role of the state; God, religion, and the natural law as the basis of the political order; the family; the thinking on freedom; the thinking about equality; and international life and ethics. Since American conservatism has been known for having different groupings or schools of thought within it-in the new millennium these are traditionalist conservatism, paleoconservatism, cultural or religious-based conservatism, neoconservatism, libertarian conservatism, and TEA party conservatism-the book examines leading representatives from each grouping and then determines what the consensus conservatism thinking is in each area. Then it looks to a recent platform of the Democratic party that was acknowledged to be especially "liberal" and one of the Republican party that was acknowledged to be especially "conservative" (they were the 2012 platforms of each party) to determine the thinking of each ideology on eight major public issue/policy areas: economics and social welfare policy; energy and the environment; civil rights and civil liberties; education and health care; family policy; immigration policy; human life issues; and foreign policy, defense, and disarmament. It compares each ideology's thinking in these different areas of their general political and social philosophy and their public issue/policy positions and compares them to the basic principles of Catholic social teaching, assessing how well each conforms to that teaching in each area or if each clearly deviates and then coming to an conclusion overall about which is closer to Catholic social teaching.

In The Crisis of Religious Liberty: Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought, contributors consider a series of significant challenges to the freedom of religious conscience and expression in the United States today. Such challenges include the mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concerning contraceptive, sterilization, and abortifacient coverage in health insurance plans; the question of health-care institutions requiring medical personnel to participate in morally objectionable procedures contrary to their religious beliefs; legal liability for individuals and businesses refusing on religious grounds to provide services for same-sex marriages; the prohibition on students from engaging in religious expression in public schools; the use of zoning laws to block Bible studies in private homes; and a variety of other issues that have surfaced in recent years with respect to religious freedom. While some argues that religious liberty extends no further than the freedom to worship, contributors suggest otherwise, noting that the exercise of religious liberty is greater than a highly restrictive definition of the notion of worship. The Crisis of Religious Liberty comprises eight chapters and an afterword that explore the nature and basis of religious freedom in terms of Catholic social thought. They cover such topics as the Catholic Church's teachings from the Vatican II's Dignatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Liberty), the decline of a historic rapprochement among different religious perspectives in the United States in the face of an increasingly aggressive secularism, perspectives on religious liberty from the founding of America, and how the religious liberty situation in the U.S. compares with the rest of the world. The Crisis of Religious Liberty: Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought should appeal to a variety of professionals as well as a scholars: lawyers and clergy, health care professionals and Catholic business owners, and researchers in the fields of religion, law, American politics, and sociology.

In this stimulating volume, Stephen M. Krason considers whether the Founding Fathers' vision of the American democratic republic has been transformed and if so, in what ways. He looks to the basic principles of the Founding Fathers, then discusses the changes that resulted from evolving contemporary expectations about government. Referencing philosophical principles and the work of great Western thinkers, Krason then explores a variety of proposals that could forge a foundation for restoration.

Acknowledging that any attempt to revive the Founders' views on a democratic republic must start in the public sphere, Krason focuses on concerned citizens who are aware of the extent to which our current political structures deviate from the Founders' vision and want to take action. Ultimately, a democratic republic can exist, be sustained, and flourish only when there is a deep commitment to it in the minds and norms of its people.

Written by a foremost authority in the field of US Constitutional law, this book will appeal to those interested in American history, society, and politics.

The child protective system (CPS), shaped by federal law forty years ago and run on the state and county levels in the United States, offered in utopian fashion the hope of preventing all possible child abuse or neglect. In response, legislators enacted a spate of vague laws that poorly defined such categories as "abuse" and "neglect," and granted the CPS sweeping powers to intrude into families, often on the basis of nothing more than anonymous complaints about standard childrearing practices. This arrangement, which followed from the questionable assertion of the existence of a crisis of child abuse and neglect, became the basis in theory for the universal monitoring of American families that has resulted in the sharp curtailing of parental rights and responsibilities. With overreaching by local and state governments into family affairs, the current CPS has not only damaged untold numbers of families but also undercut the legitimacy of parental authority through the continuous threat to parents of child removal. In Child Abuse, Family Rights, and the Child Protective System: A Critical Analysis from Law, Ethics, and Catholic Social Teaching, Stephen M. Krason gathers essays by leading scholars and practitioners to comment through the prism of Catholic social thought, on the plight afflicting American families and the role of the child protective system. Here readers will find critical essays on the deleterious effect of the1974 passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act; assessments of current American policies on child abuse and neglect and the role of the CPS within the context of prevailing international human rights principles and Catholic social teaching; a survey of the enforcement of CPS policies from a legal and constitutional perspective; research data disputing the CPS principle that all parents are potential abusers and illustrating the greater prevalence of abuse and neglect in broken, "blended," and "untraditional" families; and arguments for poverty and unemployment as the prime culprits in the mistreatment of children. Also included are the amicus curiae briefs that the Society of Catholic Social Scientists submitted in two U.S. Supreme Court cases on parental rights, the CPS, and state control over the family. Child Abuse, Family Rights, and the Child Protective System should appeal to a variety of professionals as well as scholars, from family court attorneys, social workers, family counselors, and clergy to researchers in the fields of social work, law, family studies, American politics, sociology, human services, counseling and psychology, and education, as well as public officials.

In this stimulating volume, Stephen M. Krason considers whether the Founding Fathers' vision of the American democratic republic has been transformed and if so, in what ways. He looks to the basic principles of the Founding Fathers, then discusses the changes that resulted from evolving contemporary expectations about government. Referencing philosophical principles and the work of great Western thinkers, Krason then explores a variety of proposals that could forge a foundation for restoration.

Acknowledging that any attempt to revive the Founders' views on a democratic republic must start in the public sphere, Krason focuses on concerned citizens who are aware of the extent to which our current political structures deviate from the Founders' vision and want to take action. Ultimately, a democratic republic can exist, be sustained, and flourish only when there is a deep commitment to it in the minds and norms of its people.

Written by a foremost authority in the field of US Constitutional law, this book will appeal to those interested in American history, society, and politics.

"This book is intended to call attention to a number of important men in the history of American Catholicism and of the American nation generally. All were prominent figures in their time. Some held important national political positions and/or had a significant impact on national political debate, while others were better known on a regional basis. All share the curious, common fate of being largely unknown, or at least not frequently thought of, in our time. Their names not only seldom come up in works of American history and political theory but are hardly familiar even to their co-religionists of today. The important point to stress here is that the contributors of the essays share the conviction that the story of these men and their contributions to American political life and thought ought to be told in our time and that they have deserve to receive the attention that other public men have received." -Stephen M. Krason, Editor

Belief in universal education as the means to prevent divisions among social classes has long been an important element in American society. This highly-regarded sociological study refutes prejudices against Catholic education, such as claims that Catholic schools are authoritarian, and that they no longer have a valuable role to play in society.

Andrew M. Greeley and Peter H. Rossi tackle issues about Catholic education at all levels: elementary, secondary, and college. These include reasons why families have (and have not) sent their children to Catholic schools, comparisons among different Catholic ethnic groups in their tendency to take advantage of Catholic education, effects of Catholic schools on the religiosity commitment of their students and graduates, and the relationship between religious formation in the home and in Catholic school.

Greeley and Rossi provide a complete picture of the state of American Catholic education on the verge of a new age for Catholicism in the country. Some of their findings--such as the tendency of "Catholic school Catholics" to be more "tolerant" than others--provide insight to the reasons for the profound changes in the American Catholic community that followed in subsequent years.