- Study of church and state in the United States is incredibly complex. Scholars working in this area have backgrounds in law, religious studies, history, theology, and politics, among others; historically, they have focused on particular angles or dimensions of the church-state relationship, because the field is so vast. The results have mostly been monographs that focus only on narrow cross-sections of the field, and the few works that do aim to give larger perspectives are reference works of factual compendia, which offer little or no analysis. The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States fills this gap, offering an extensive, multidimensional overview of the field of church and state. Twenty-one essays present a scholarly look at the intricacies and past and current debates that frame the American system of church and state, within five main areas: history, law, theology/philosophy politics and sociology. These essays provide factual accounts, but also address issues, problems, debates, controversies, and - where appropriate - suggested resolution of problems. Contents : Religious pluralism as the essential foundation of America's quest for unity and order / by Derek H. Davis -- The founding era (1774-1797) and the constitutional provision for religion / by John F. Wilson -- Eighteenth-century religious liberty : the founding generation's Protestant-derived understanding / by Barry Alan Shain -- Church and state in nineteenth-century America / by Steven K. Green -- Religious advocacy by American religious institutions : a history / by Melissa Rogers -- Constitutional language and judicial interpretations of the free exercise clause / by Bette Novitt Evans -- The U.S. Supreme Court and non-First Amendment religion cases / by Ronald B. Flowers -- The meaning of the separation of church and state : competing views / by Daniel L. Dreisbach -- Managed pluralism : the emerging church-state model in the United States / by Nicholas Gvosdev -- Religious liberty and religious minorities in the United States / by Elizabeth A. Sewell -- Religious symbols and religious expression in the public square / by T. Jeremy Gunn -- Religious liberty as a democratic institution / by Ted G. Jelen -- Pursuit of the moral good and the church-state conundrum in the United States : the politics of sexual orientation / by Andrew R. Murphy and Caitlin Kerr -- Monitoring and surveillance of religious groups in the United States / by James T. Richardson and Thomas Robbins -- The U.S. Congress : protecting and accommodating religion / by Allen D. Hertzke -- The Christian Right and church-state issues / by Clyde Wilcox and Sam Potolicchio -- American religious liberty in international perspective / by John Witte, Jr. -- Supply-side changes in American religion : exploring the implications of church-state relations / by Roger Finke -- Peeking through Jefferson's relocated wall : a sociological assessment of U.S. church-state relations / by N.J. Demerath III --