Currently, public religion is in a time of flux and the notion of the common good-once associated with the Protestant voice in America-is openly contested by new religious coalitions seeking to communicate their version of the truth and plant their stake in the public domain. This edited volume reflects on the changing tone and form of the public voice of religion, on its function in American society, and on its relationship to the private world of religion. It proposes that public religion, when exercised in a civil and accountable way, can be a responsible and prophetic voice in public life and enrich the American experiment in liberal democracy. The contributors-first-rate scholars including Martin Marty and Robert Belah-focus on public religion's influence on controversial issues such as multiculturalism, economic inequality, abortion, and homosexuality.

WILLIAMS H. SWATOS, JR., is Adjunct Associate Professor of Sociology at Northern Illinois University. He is editor of Sociological Analysis: A Journal in the Sociology of Religion, coeditor of Charisma, History and Social Structure (Greenwood Press, 1986) and Bureaucracy Against Democracy and Socialism (Greenwood Press, 1987), editor of Religious Sociology: Interfaces and Boundaries (Greenwood Press, 1987), and coauthor of Max Weber: A Bio-bibliography (Greenwood Press, 1988).