Bloomsbury Religious Free Exercise and Contemporary American Politics: The Saga of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000

Using a key religious freedom Act, the book analyzes legislative process, Supreme Court jurisprudence, and discusses the role of religion in public life. "Religious Free Exercise and Contemporary American Politics" explains why the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) had to undergo a major metamorphosis in order to win approval. The book uses this episode as a window onto the dynamics of modern constitutional politics, specifically the constitutional politics of free exercise. The book argues that, although free exercise of religion remains an important value in American politics, it has been severely buffeted by both liberal individualism and identity politics. The former equates religious 'choice' with all other types of choices one makes in life, the latter sees religious identity as equivalent to racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation identities. These two views coalesced in the late 1990s to force major modifications in the proposed Religious Liberty Protection Act, succeeding in limiting its reach only to prisoners and land use disputes. Written in an accessible manner for students of politics and religion as well as constitutional politics and law, the book offers a unique perspective on religious freedom in American politics. Review "My students often find RLUIPA to be a bizarre statute, covering two seemingly unrelated policy domains and federalizing what had typically been the province of state governments. Thanks to Waltman's fine book, they and I will now understand better how this law came into being and how its birth pangs accounted for its peculiar qualities. Even though we're told not to watch laws being made, this account deepens appreciation for the human qualities of the legislative process." Kenneth D. Wald, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of FloridaAn excellent history of an important series of congressional acts to protect religious liberty in the face of a Supreme Court reluctant to protect individual rights but eager to limit the powers of Congress. Professor Waltman makes accessible the policy arguments, the legal arguments, and the politics of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Douglas Laycock, Armistead M. Dobie Professor of Law, University of Virginia About the Author Jerold L. Waltman is R.W. Morrison Professor of Constitutional Studies, Department of Political Science and Adjunct appointment, J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University. He also serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Church and State (Oxford University Press) and is the author or editor of many books.