Read an overview of the issue of separation of church and state:

Laycock, Douglas. (2006). Church and state in the United States: Competing conceptions and historic changes. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 13(2), 503-541. [html version] [pdf version]

Special Issue #1: The Intelligent Design Movement

Coyne, Jerry. (2006). Intelligent Design: The faith that dare not speak its name. In J. Brockman (Ed.), Intelligent thought: Science versus the Intelligent Design movement (pp. 3-23). New York: Vintage Books. [see syllabus page 1 for password to open]

Special Issue #2: Same-Sex Marriage

Badgett, M. V. Lee. (2004). Will providing rights to same-sex couples undermine heterosexual marriage? Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 1(3), 1-10. [see syllabus page 1 for password to open]

Extreme Position #1: Integration of Church and State ("Christian Nation")

Quotes from Roy Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and advocate for an integration of Church and State.

Extreme Position #2: Removal of religion from public life

Harris, Sam. (2005). Reason in exile. In The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason (pp. 11-49). New York: Norton. [see syllabus page 1 for password to open]

[Note: This is 20 printed pages of 2 small pages each - a hefty reading assignment. I'd suggest starting this one before Tuesday night. However, it is a quick read.]