Scott A. Merriman, PhD, is professor of history at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, and teaches online for the University of Maryland University College and the American Public University System. His published works include ABC-CLIO's Religion and the Law in America: An Encyclopedia of Personal Belief and Public Policy.

This timely and authoritative resource combines both topical and country-by-country coverage to help readers understand the coexistence of church and state in nations around the world today.
At a time when faith-based groups have become more politically active in the United States, and with religious conflicts at the epicenter of many of the world's most dangerous hotspots, Religion and the State: An International Analysis of Roles and Relationships could not be more welcomed or timely. Country by country, faith by faith, it unravels the historic underpinnings and long-range effects of the relationship between religious principles and the operations of government in its many guises worldwide.
The work combines topical essays on significant developments in the confluence of religion and law throughout the world with short descriptions of each countries' current treatment of religion. Readers can investigate specific nations, compare situations across nations, and explore key issues in the pervasive, often controversial relationship between religion and government.