this book focuses on religion and politics and the dynamic interactions between them. It helps to understand the politics of religion in the United States and to appreciate the strategic choices that politicians and religious participants make when they participate in politics.

"A thoughtful, well-balanced workFew books provide as comprehensive a survey of religion and politics in America as this oneA valuable book for students and scholars of religion and politics in America."
"Journal of Church and State"
"Closely tracks the current salience of religion to the political system, while carefully placing these developments in historical and theoretical context. It will promote discussion of the key issues in the field in both introductory and upper level coursesa real achievement."
Paul A. Djupe, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Denison University
"An invaluable primer on this increasing important topic. Well-written, well-researched and up-to-date, it combines a broad vision of the role of faith in American public life with sensitivity to the nuances of religious communities."
John Green, Director, Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, University of Akron
Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. In this fifth edition of "Religion and Politics in America," the authors offer a lively, accessible, and balanced treatment of religion in American politics. They explore the historical, cultural, and legal contexts that underlie religious political engagement while also highlighting the pragmatic and strategic political realities that religious organizations and people face. Incorporating the best and most up-to-date scholarship, the authors assess the politics of Roman Catholics; evangelical, mainline, and African American Protestants; Jews; Muslims and other conventional and not-so-conventional American religious movements. The author team also examines important subjects concerning religion and its relationship to gender, race/ethnicity, and class. The fifth edition has been revised to include the 2012 elections, in particular Mitt Romney s candidacy and Mormonism, as well as a fuller assessment of the role of religion in President Obama s first term. In-depth treatment of core topics, contemporary case studies, and useful focus-study boxes, provides students with a real understanding of how religion and politics relate in practice and makes this fifth edition essential reading for courses in political science, religion, and sociology departments.
Robert Booth Fowler is Herbert and Evelyn Howe Bascom Professor of Integrated Liberal Studies and Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of WisconsinMadison.
Allen D. Hertzke is David Ross Boyd Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
Laura R. Olson is Centennial Professor in the Department of Political Science at Clemson University.
Kevin R. den Dulk is the Paul B. Henry Chair in Political Science and Director of the Henry Institute at Calvin College."