About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

95 Colum. L. Rev. 473 (1995)
Can This Culture Be Saved - Another Affirmative Action Baby Reflects on Religious Freedom

handle is hein.journals/clr95 and id is 483 raw text is: CAN THIS CULTURE BE SAVED? ANOTHER AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BABY REFLECTS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM THE CULTURE OF DISBELIEF: HOW AMERICAN LAW AND POLI- TICS TRIVIALIZE RELIGIOUS DEVOTION. By Stephen L. Carter. New York: Basic Books, 1993. Pp. 328. $25.00. W. Burlette Carter* Trading on a number of attractive myths, in the fall of 1993, Stephen Carter' produced one of the more celebrated books written by a law pro- fessor in recent memory. In The Culture of Disbelief, Carter charges the American legal and political culture with trivializing religious devotion to such an extent that today, religion is not an acceptable subject of discus- sion in public fora.2 Accordingly, says Carter, religious discourse is dis- couraged in public discussions while other types of discourse are wel- comed, and religious behavior in public life is viewed as suspect because it is religious. The award-winning book generated a virtual cottage industry of news articles and other media coverage on its subject.3 Shortly after Culture's * Associate Professor of Law, The George Washington University National Law Center, BA. Agnes Scott College, 1982; J.D. Harvard Law School, 1985. I thank my colleagues Paul Butler, Brad Clark, Ira Lupu (special thanks), Larry Mitchell, and Robert Tuttle who reviewed early drafts of this Review essay and provided helpful comments. I also thank Dean Jack Friedenthal for his support, Professors Ronald Collins and Susan Gilles for their insightful comments on an early draft, and Philip Davis for his help with religious sources. Finally, I thank research assistants Carol Lillienstein and RobertJenkins, who provided primary assistance with this work, as well as research assistants Mamaye Makalou and James Hwa for their contributions. (The author of this piece is not related to Stephen Carter.) 1. William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Yale University. Carter is also the author of Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby (1991). 2. Some of the basic themes Carter trumpets in Culture have been previously explored by him in other publications and speeches. He notes in his acknowledgements two articles in particular:. Evolutionism, Creationism, and Treating Religion as a Hobby, 1987 Duke LJ. 977 (pp. vi, vii); The Inaugural Development Fund Lectures: Scientific Liberalism, Scientistic Law, 69 Or. L. Rev. 471 (1990). See also Stephen L. Carter, The Separation of Church and Self, 46 SMU L. Rev. 585 (1992) (arguing that liberal political theory's image of ideal public citizen fails to preserve place for religious expressions); Stephen L. Carter, Religion Doesn't Have a Prayer, Legal Times, July 23, 1990, at 28 (arguing that, according to courts, the Establishment Clause mandates that God's word may not be taken seriously in public affairs). Because Cultures primary readership-the general public-does not have the benefit of Carter's prior works, and because Carter himself describes these earlier explorations as part of an intellectual odyssey (p. vi) (thus suggesting that Culture represents the most current manifestation of his views), my comments here are based solely upon Culture of Disbeif unless otherwise stated. In making these comments, I take into account the fact that a book for the general public does not lend itself to the same degree of thoroughness allowable in a law review publication. 3. See, e.g., Stephen L. Carter, Conservatives' Faith, Liberals' Disdain, N.Y. Times, Aug. 15, 1993, § 4, at 15 (book excerpt); Stephen L. Carter, Is God Just A Hobby?, Atlanta

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most