democracy or theocracy?: america’s continuing conflict over the role of religion in public policy

From the expulsion of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the drama of the Scopes Trial, Don McEvoy takes us on an exciting journey through the history of America's struggle to find a solution to the question of the interaction between religion and the development of public policy. Three centuries of debate come alive through a series of letters to citizens of the 21st century from the participants in these historic events. The letters may be fictional, but they are authentic restatements of the ideas and arguments of proponents on both sides of every disagreement.

The claims, assertions and allegations are as current as today's newspaper and next year's session of the Supreme Court. Is America a Christian nation? Is the 'separation of Church and State" in the Constitution? Can a nation exist without recognition of the Sovereignty of God? Should tax money be used to support social programs and charities of religious institutions? Is the employment of Chaplains a violation of the First Amendment? Who decides what is taught in the public schools?

Roger Williams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Horace Mann, William Jennings Bryan, Horace Greeley, Clarence Darrow and 37 other American leaders, both liberal and conservative, secular and religious, are right inside the pages of this book waiting to share their ideas with you.