Abstract
The advent of the new religious institutionalism has brought the relationship between religion and the state to the fore once again. Yet, for all the talk of the appropriateness of religion¿state interactions, scholars have yet to examine how it functions. This Article analyzes the critical, yet usually invisible, role of ¿religious interest groups¿¿lobby groups representing religious institutions or individuals¿in shaping federal legislation. In recent years, religious interest groups have come to dominate political discourse. Groups such as Priests for Life, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Women¿s Christian Temperance Union, and American Jewish Congress have entered the political fray to lobby for legislative change that is reflective of specific religious values. These religious interest groups collectively spend over $350 million every year attempting to entrench religious values into the law. These groups have become the primary mechanism for religious involvement in federal politics, but, surprisingly, the place and role of these groups has yet to be examined by legal scholars. This Article shows that the key features of religious interest groups reflect significant tensions within the emerging project of religious institutionalism.
Recommended Citation
Zoë Robinson,
Lobbying in the Shadows: Religious Interest Groups in the Legislative Process,
64
Emory L. J.
1041
(2015).
Available at:
https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/elj/vol64/iss4/2