Taking Liberties: Why Religious Freedom Doesn't Give You the Right to Tell Other People What to Do

A concise and lucid explanation of what religious freedom is and isn't.Increasingly, conservative religious groups are using religious liberty as a sword to lash out at others. In this forcefully argued defense of the separation of church and state, Robert Boston makes it clear that the religious freedom guaranteed in the First Amendment is an individual right, the right of personal conscience, not a license allowing religious organizations to discriminate against and control others. The book examines the controversy over birth control, same-sex marriage, religion in public schools, the intersection of faith and politics, and the "war on Christmas," among other topics.Boston concludes with a series of recommendations for resolving clashes between religious liberty claims and individual rights.

Robert Boston is the director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the editor of Church & State magazine. He is the author of Why the Religious Right Is Wrong about Separation of Church and State, Close Encounters with the Religious Right, and The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition. He is also a frequent contributor to The Humanist, and his articles have appeared in Free Inquiry, The Skeptical Inquirer, Conscience, and other publications.