Mitt Romney's run for the White House raises perennial questions about the place of religion in the public square and offers scholars an interesting occasion to reconsider the relationship between religion and American politics. The media has made much of Romney's religion and so have some sectors of the American public. What can we learn from public attitudes about Mormonism? Are the religious beliefs of a political candidate relevant to serving in office, and if so, how? Are there political implications to Mormonism? Do the careers of other Mormon politicians shed any light on this question? In what ways is Mormonism politically comparable to other religious groups?- Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University
Bio
David E. Campbell
David E. Campbell is the John Cardinal O'Hara, C.S.C. Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, as well as a research fellow with Notre Dame's Institute for Educational Initiatives. His recent book Why We Vote: How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life (2006) demonstrates how schools can foster a sense of civic responsibility in adolescents that, in turn, leads to a lifetime of civic engagement.
He is also the editor of the recently-published volume A Matter of Faith: Religion in the 2004 Presidential Election (2007)and a co-author of two other books: The Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools (2002), and Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Have Undermined Citizenship and What We Can Do About It (2005). Along with Paul Peterson, he has edited the book Charters, Vouchers, and a Public Education (2001). In addition to these books, he has published articles in a number of scholarly journals on such subjects as schools, young people, religion, and civic engagement.
Currently, David is collaborating on a book with Harvard University’s Robert Putnam, provisionally titled American Grace: The Changing Role of Religion in American Civic Life. David has a B.A. from Brigham Young University, and both a M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.
John Green
John Green is a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. He also serves as director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Akron.
Marci Hamilton
Marci A. Hamilton is one of the United States' leading church/state scholars, as well as an expert on federalism and representation. During the academic year 2007-08, she is a Visiting Professor and the Kathleen and Martin Crane Fellow in the Program in Law and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
Stephen Macedo
Stephen Macedo is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values and, since 2002, director of the University Center for Human Values. He writes and teaches on political theory, ethics, public policy, and law, especially on topics related to liberalism and constitutionalism, democracy and citizenship, diversity and civic education, religion and politics, the family and sexuality, and the political community and globalization. His current projects include immigration and social justice and the impact on domestic democracy of involvement with multilateral institutions.