So what does all this two-century old stuff have to do with our times? The debate about the role of religion in society continues and has escalated in recent years. Those against religion and belief in God have some more tools in their tool kits. The long trend of secularization and modernity beginning in the mid-19th century has had its effect. In great part, the existence of religion and its effects have been largely ignored in modern scholarly research and public policy. Many scholars treat religion as an artifact, believing that the postmodern world we find ourselves in has moved beyond religion. But it turns out that religion is much more stubborn than many of the scholarly crowd assumed. So stubborn that some scholars today are rethinking the role and consequence of religion in public life and culture.

In 1994, Oxford University Press brought out "Religion, the Mission Dimension of Statecraft." This study was "prompted in part by a concern that the rigorous separation of church and state in the United States has desensitized many citizens to the fact that much of the rest of the world does not operate on similar basis." In order to achieve more peaceful reconciliation to bitter conflicts, greater stress must be placed on "approaches that key to deep-rooted human relationships (religion) rather than to state-centered philosophies." The contributors to this volume believe that religion in general and religious individuals in particular can play a "powerful role in peacemaking" in world conflicts.

More recently, and more fundamentally, a group of American scholars are rediscovering that religion is an indispensable tool in understanding why some countries are successful and why others are so "agonizingly slow" to progress toward "democratic governance, social justice and prosperity." Two recent books, "Culture Matters," (Basic Books, 2000, edited by Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington) and "The Central Liberal Truth" (Oxford, 2006, Lawrence E. Harrison) talk about the relationship between cultural values and human progress. Harrison is an immensely well-respected scholar at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a former director of a number of United States Agency for International Development missions in Latin America. Based on two decades of intimate observation of Latin America, Harrison concluded that the fundamental problems leading to the underdevelopment in Latin America had more to do with culture than other factors and that "culture is powerfully influenced by religion." In a recent interview on C-SPAN, Harrison stated that it is hard to overstate the role of religion in the successful development or underdevelopment of countries. Some commentators disagree with Harrison on his evaluation of particular religions and particular regions and some disagree as to the weight applied to religion in his analysis. However, everyone agrees that he has reshaped our understanding of the relationship between religion and international development.

These two examples of recent scholarship underline the importance of religion even in our post-modern culture and the need for civil public discussion of religion. Such a discussion is entirely consistent with intent of the Founders of our country, does not violate the principle of separation of church and state, and is not intended to "shove" anyone's particular religious beliefs down another's throat.

---

Joseph A. Cannon is the editor of the Deseret Morning News.