Name: The Christian Cross in American Public Life
SKU: 1-5275-7217-X
Availability: InStock

The Christian Cross in American Public Life

An Encyclopedia

By: John R. Vile

From £44.99

From towering monuments to roadside memorials, the cross is a vital symbol in American life. It marks identity, grief, and sacrifice, while sparking legal debates over church and state. This volume explores the cross in art, politics, and culture in an accessible A-to-Z format.

The cross is one of Christianity’s most distinctive symbols, increasingly cutting across Catholic/Protestant and other denominational divides. Although the US acknowledges no official religion, a variety of both Christian and non-Christian denominations have flourished. Crosses dot the landscape, sometimes towering over it and at other times simply marking a grave or the site of a traffic accident, or providing a place for contemplation. Courts continue to decide whether it is better to remove long-standing crosses on public property to protect the separation of church and state, or whether removing such symbols might be misinterpreted as expressing hostility towards religion. Whether marking identity, triumph, love, grief, or sacrifice, the cross remains important in American life and continues to be the subject of works of art, music, literature, and political, religious, and social rhetoric, all of which this volume addresses in an accessible A-to-Z format.

Dr John R. Vile is Professor of Political Science and Dean of the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), USA. A specialist in US constitutional law, he has written numerous op-eds, scholarly articles, chapters, book reviews, and books on the US Constitution, America’s founding fathers, the constitutional amending process, Supreme Court decisions, presidential speeches, and other important American documents. He is particularly interested in important symbols and has written additional volumes on the Declaration of Independence, the US flag, the Liberty Bell, the National Anthem, and the Bald Eagle. His recent books include The Bible in American Law and Politics: A Reference Guide and Prayer in American Public Life: An Encyclopedia. He is the coeditor and contributes regularly to the online First Amendment Encyclopedia. MTSU awarded him its Career Achievement Award for 2010-2011, and the national Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society named him as its Phi Kappa Phi Scholar for 2020-2022.

Hardback

ISBN: 1-5275-7217-X
ISBN13: 978-1-5275-7217-1
Date of Publication: 2024-02-14

Paperback

ISBN: 1-0364-1773-5
ISBN13: 978-1-0364-1773-4
Date of Publication: 2024-11-20

Ebook

ISBN: 1-5275-7218-8
ISBN13: 978-1-5275-7218-8
Date of Publication: 2024-11-20

Categories: Social Sciences, Religion and Faith, Religion and Faith, Sociology

Pages: 508

Subject Codes:

BIC: HRC, HRAM2, JFCA
THEMA: QRM, QRAM2, JBCC1

Pages: 508

Meet The Author

John R. Vile

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