Pluralism and Freedom Faith-Based Organizations in a Democratic Society

Few scholars have thought harder or more productively than Steve Monsma about the role of faith-based organizations in our pluralistic democracy. Pluralism and Freedom brilliantly reflects his years of research and philosophical probing. Many conservatives will find his ideas attractive, but I especially recommend his book to liberals who may well disagree with him, but will find themselves challenged by Monsma's compassionate heart and searching mind. -- E J. Dionne, Jr., author of Why Americans Hate Politics and They Only Look Dead Our society counts on flourishing faith-based service organizations. However, the religious freedom-the autonomy-they need in order to play their important roles is not so well understood. Steve Monsma's path-breaking book identifies key issues and controversies and recommends policies that will enable these vital groups to continue to make their uncommon contributions to our common good. -- Stanley Carlson-Thies, Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance Monsma is the dean of scholars who study religion and politics in America. You don't need to agree with all or even most of his policy-relevant conclusions to marvel at the deep erudition, moral balance, and civic spirit that inform each and every page of Pluralism and Freedom. And you can't claim to have a truly informed and considered opinion on the most controversial church-state issues of our day unless you have read this latest gem of a book by Monsma. -- John J. DiIulio, Jr., former director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives In his previous seminal contribution Positive Neutrality: Letting Religious Freedom Ring, Stephen Monsma helped to establish the legal and philosophical grounding of today's much-debated "faith-based initiatives." With Pluralism and Freedom: Faith Based Organizations in a Democratic Society, Monsma has advanced the debate again by probing the conflicting "liberal" and "pluralist" understandings of religion and religious communities at the heart of the constitutional and political struggle over the public role of faith-based organizations. Carefully and sympathetically, Monsma defines a reasonable policy balance between these conflicting worldviews, moving today's relatively more accommodating church-state framework one step closer toward consensus. -- Lew Daly, Senior Fellow at Demos and author of God and the Welfare State