The Protestant (Dis)Establishment: Its Overlooked Role in the Ongoing Battles Over Religious Liberty (A Prospectus)

Abstract

This article argues that, in order to understand the ongoing battles over the meaning of Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses, the religious right's ongoing campaign against "secular humanism," and the broader conservative revolt against "the Establishment," we have to understand the liberal Protestant character of "the Establishment" against which conservative Protestants and Catholics originally rebelled.  The paper argues further that, as the Protestant establishment became increasingly committed to disestablishment, it effectively disestablished itself and at the same time perpetuated itself in the form of a Protestant "(Dis)Establishment."  Understanding the ways in which disestablishmentarianism perpetuates the liberal Protestant outlook of the erstwhile Protestant Establishment enables us to better understand the ways in which current battles against "secular humanism" are a continuation of older theological battles waged by conservative Protestants and Catholics against liberal Protestantism, combined with class resentments against the political and social elite that continues to promote liberal Protestantism's humanist ideals.

Keywords: humanism, secular humanism, religious liberty, disestablishment, liberal Protestantism, religious right