Endowment for a faculty position in Constitutional Studies and Religion, a visiting lecture series, seminars for journalists, a postdoctoral teaching fellowship, a dissertation fellowship, graduate student stipends and conferences.

Since America's founding, three different and sometimes competing visions of religion in American political life have thrived in American soil: freedom of religion, for religion, and from religion. These three distinct conceptions converged at the time of the American founding in the form of the religion clauses of the First Amendment and many parallel provisions in state constitutions. Yet Americans have not always agreed on the role religion should play in American public life. Some advocate its exclusion from public life or favor restrictions on religious expression in the public sphere. Others believe religious citizens have the same right to advocate their values in public life as anyone else. Still others believe the democratic process is weakened and civic life diminished without the full participation of those with strong religious views. We propose that the NEH endow a new program for Inquiry into Religion in American Public Life dedicated to ongoing studies and programs on the role of religion in American democracy. The program will fund the following: a distinguished visiting lecture series and interdisciplinary faculty seminars; a new faculty line; a postdoctoral teaching fellowship; a dissertation fellowship; graduate student stipends to encourage promising graduate students to pursue doctoral research in religion and American public life; conferences; and an annual summer seminar for journalists on the constitutional, historical and philosophical principles affecting religion in American public life. We are requesting $1 million from the NEH. Notre Dame will raise an additional $3 million in non-federal matching funds.