For Immediate Release
March 3, 2008

Media Contact:

Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

Professor Goldberg

WASHINGTON, D.C. - While public recognition of religion has always been a part of American political life, recent efforts to challenge the separation of church and state by inserting religious symbols into the public sphere is the gravest threat to real faith, asserts Georgetown University Law Center Professor Steven Goldberg in his new book, "Bleached Faith: The Tragic Cost When Religion Is Forced into the Public Square," (Stanford University Press, 2008).

Goldberg argues that religion is weakened and distorted when the government forces religious symbols into public spaces such as government buildings and classrooms. He writes, "If religion is to have any real impact in America – if it is to serve as a source of moral values in a materialistic, scientific culture – it must have real content. That content emerges in hearts, homes, houses of worship, and in the private sector, not in government bureaucracies."

Goldberg maintains that religion has been the real loser in the battles over display of the Ten Commandments, the teaching of intelligent design in schools and the public celebration of religious holidays such as Christmas and Chanukah. He contends that, "If American religion becomes a watered-down broth that is indistinguishable from consumerism and science, we will have no one to blame but ourselves."

"With a journalist's clarity and a lawyer's precision, Steven Goldberg shows what we've lost in the legal battles over religion's place in the public sphere – a serious commitment to what makes religion important," notes Harvard Law Professor Mark Tushnet.

"'Bleached Faith' is a richly informed and frankly personal meditation about the importance of spiritual conviction in society," says University of Chicago Law Professor Dennis J. Hutchinson. "Steven Goldberg – long an important voice in questions of the relationships among religion, science, and the law – carefully surveys how courts have tried to mediate conflicts between the Constitution and those who want more religion in the public square. Anyone who wants to understand the fault line between church and state will be enriched by this book."

Goldberg joined the Georgetown Law faculty in 1977. He is best known for his writings in the field of law, science and values. His previous books include, "Seduced by Science: How American Religion Has Lost Its Way" (NYU Press, 1998) and "Culture Clash: Law and Science in America" (NYU Press, 1996), winner of the Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award. A former attorney with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Goldberg served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., and District of Columbia Circuit Court Chief Judge David L. Bazelon.

 

About Georgetown University Law Center 

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's premier law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body representing more than 60 countries.

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