''The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America'' is a 1984 book written by then-
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
pastor
Richard John Neuhaus
Richard John Neuhaus (May 14, 1936–January 8, 2009) was a prominent Christian cleric (first in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, then ELCA pastor and later as a Catholic priest) and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United Stat ...
about the relationship between religion, culture, and politics in the context of 1980s American
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
. The book raises the complaint about the way strict separationists read the
First Amendment to the US Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, th ...
is that it leaves the public square "naked", by which it is meant that the public square is now "bare" of religious speech. This, in turn, is thought to foster and encourage public hostility towards religion, something which is actually forbidden by the First Amendment.
The book was very popular among cultural and political Christians, especially those who defend a Christian intellectual culture, as well as those defending government strict limitations on abortion. Its social impact was somewhat comparable to
William F. Buckley Jr.
William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...
's ''
God and Man at Yale
''God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of "Academic Freedom"'' is a 1951 book by William F. Buckley Jr., based on his undergraduate experiences at Yale University. Buckley, then aged 25, criticized Yale for forcing collectivist, Keynesian, an ...
'', which denounced similar socio-political phenomena at major American universities.
1984 non-fiction books
Separation of church and state in the United States
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