Of Piety & Politics
Throwing The Book At Robertson & Co.
by Barry W. Lynn
http://www.au.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8250&abbr=cs_
[excerpt]
For some years, I’ve thought about fleshing out my views by writing a book
about my role in the fight to preserve church-state separation. But I
didn’t want to just debunk lies told about me. I also wanted the book to
include sound arguments for why the separation of church and state is a
great, world-class idea, especially for religious people.
That seed has now germinated. A literary agent from California approached
me last year, and we sent a proposal to some major publishers. I’m happy to
report that interest was high, and that I signed on with Harmony Books, an
imprint of Random House.
The result is that on October 3, 2006, bookstores and internet sites will
be selling Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom. I
coauthored a book on religious freedom rights in 1995 for an academic
press, but this is my first foray into solo book publishing with a major
firm. Naturally, I hope it is a successful one.
Robertson has written several books, and I wanted him to know about mine.
During my interview for the news piece on faith-based prisons, I asked
reporter Melissa Charbonneau to tell her boss about my book. I suggested he
could have me down for a one-on-one interview.
I don’t seriously think I’ll be invited to the CBN studios for an on-air
chat, but I wish I were because I’d like Robertson to hear some of the
stories in this book – stories that have led me to conclude that whenever
the government tells you it wants to “help” you become religious or instill
faith in your children, your first instinctive response should be to run
away in horror.
Random House is working with me on a study guide for the book; I’m seeking
out well-known folks to read the galleys and provide those endorsements on
the back cover. I’m also talking to publicists about launching the tome and
using my fall speaking schedule to advance the ideas in it. It’s pretty
exciting stuff.
If you want to a reserve a copy now, you can place a pre-order at online
sellers like www.amazon.com. Once you’ve done that, the book will be sent
out as soon as it is publicly available. This is not necessarily a
commercial. I just thought you might want to know how to get the book right
away for some Christian Coalition member or TV preacher you think could use
a copy for his or her library.
Here’s hoping they use it to get their facts right next time.
Barry W. Lynn is executive director of Americans United for Separation of
Church and State.
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