In the July 3rd edition of the New York Times Magazine, Noah Feldman, professor at NYU School of Law, presents what he proposes is a possible solution to America’s current church-state crisis. “A Church–State Solution” is a compelling article that should be read if not for the background information alone.
Feldman gives a brief history of church-state relations in America, and notes the emergence of two groups in the present-day. The first are what Feldman calls “values evangelicals.” This group is not limited to evangelical Christians and can include Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and anyone else who are interested in “promoting a strong set of ideas about the best way to live your life and urging the government to adopt those values and encourage them whenever possible.”
Feldman labels the next group “legal secularists.” People who follow this line of thinking about church-state relations “see religion as a matter of personal belief and choice largely irrelevant to government.” They are “concerned that values derived from religion will divide us, not unite us.”