This book examines the countervailing arguments in the religious exemption debate and explains why this issue continues to be so heated and controversial in modern-day America.
Can religion be used to legalize discrimination? When does religion exclude a person or corporation from having to follow a federal or state law, and does our government automatically favor one faith over another when allowing such exemptions? How "religious" must an activity be to qualify as exempt? These are just a few of the difficult questions addressed in When Religious and Secular Interests Collide: Faith, Law, and the Religious Exemption Debate, one of the most modern resources for looking at religion and the law, both historically and in the present. This book enables readers to fully comprehend this important multifaceted issue that continues to be contested in our courts, legislatures, hearts, and minds.
Readers will gain vital historical background about this battleground topic of academic and public interest, see how the contentious issue has changed in the past, and learn about recent developments, including the controversies surrounding religious exemption laws passed in Arkansas and Indiana in 2015. They will also glean knowledge to evaluate claims made about the First Amendment and equal rights and reach their own educated opinions on the subject. Additionally, the work includes primary source documents such as excerpts of important Supreme Court decisions accompanied by insightful analysis of how the religious exemption issue surfaced in modern American culture.

Scott A. Merriman is a lecturer in history at Troy University, USA. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Religion and the Law in America: An Encyclopedia of Personal Belief and Public Policy (ABC-CLIO/Bloomsbury, 2007).

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Founding Generation
Chapter 2 Freedom from Religion
Chapter 3 Religious Exemptions from the Gilded Age through the 1920s
Chapter 4 Sherbert and Yoder
Chapter 5 Smith, RFRA, and Its Limitations (1980-1995)
Chapter 6 From RFRA to Hobby Lobby
Chapter 7 Marriage Equality and Beyond
Conclusion A Necessary Balance
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
About the Author