​Shannon Holzer is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Houston Christian University. He has earned degrees in the areas of religion, philosophy, and religion, politics, and society. Holzer earned his Ph.D. in Religion, Politics and Society from Baylor University’s J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies. He also holds a M.A. in Philosophy from Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. He has published in the areas of philosophy, law, politics, and religion. Holzer is often heard on Houston’s KTRH news commenting on religion, politics, and society.

• Part 1: Religion and State in Philosophy.- Chapter 1: Religious Reasons in Political Discourse.- Chapter 2: A Plantingan Response to Public Reason Accessibilism.- Chapter 3: Matters of Conscience.- Chapter 4: On the Definition of Religious Belief.- Chapter 5: Natural Law and the American Founding.- Part 2: Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment.- Chapter 6: Why Do We Think the Framers Wanted to Separate Church and State?- Chapter 7: American Church – State Relations: Jefferson’s Conception of Religious Freedom.- Chapter 8: A Liberal and Generous Toleration: John Adams and the Freedom for Religion.- Chapter 9: Nondiscrimination or Accommodation?: Two Competing Visions of the Free Exercise Clause.- Chapter 10: In Praise of Separationism: A Lamentation on the Demise of that Famous Paragraph in Everson v. Board of Education.- Chapter 11: The Requirement of Church and State to be Forever Separate.- Chapter 12: Why Church and State Should be Kept Separate but Politics and Religion Should Not.- Chapter 13: Is Religion Serious Enough to Be Taken Seriously?- Chapter 14: Does the Separation of Church and State Require Secularism?- Chapter 15: Miltonic Liberty and the Grounds for Disestablishment in A Treatise of Civil Power.- Chapter 16: A Marriage of Opposites: Tocqueville on Religion and Democracy.- Chapter 17: Public Spirit as Mediating Influence Between Tocqueville’s “Spirit of Religion” and “Spirit of Freedom”.- Part 3: Religion and Law in the American Courts.- Chapter 18: Testing Neutrality: The Courts’ Use of Legal Tests in Determining Establishment and Free Exercise Cases.- Chapter 19: Corporate Religious Liberty After Hobby Lobby.- Chapter 20: The Ministerial Exception and the Distinction between Church and State.- Chapter 21: The Definition of Marriage from Reynolds to Obergefell.- Chapter 22: The Separation of Church and State: The Court’s ‘Secular Purpose’ and the Argumentum ex Ignorantia.- Chapter 23: Changes in Conscience Clauses and the Effecton Religious Affiliated Hospitals and Health Care Practitioners.- Chapter 24: Title: A Very Private, Very Public Matter: Contraception and Religious Freedom.- Chapter 25: Religion and Education: A New Birth of Freedom for Unsettled Times.- Chapter 26: The Global State Church: The Political and Security Roles of Religion in Contemporary Education.- Chapter 27: Sexual Identity, Gender Ideology, and Religious Freedom: The Tug of War over “Who We Are” Schools as Battlegrounds.- Part 4: Religion and the State in Canada, Mexico, and South America.- Chapter 28: Religion and State in Canada.- Chapter 29: Religion and State in Mexico Roberto Blancart.- Chapter 30: Religion and State in Colombia.- Chapter 31: Religion and State in Argentina.- Chapter 32: Religion and State in Brazil.- Chapter 33: Religion and State in Chile.- Chapter 34: Religion and State in the Caribbean.

​Shannon Holzer is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Houston Christian University. He has earned degrees in the areas of religion, philosophy, and religion, politics, and society. Holzer earned his Ph.D. in Religion, Politics and Society from Baylor University’s J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies. He also holds a M.A. in Philosophy from Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. He has published in the areas of philosophy, law, politics, and religion. Holzer is often heard on Houston’s KTRH news commenting on religion, politics, and society.

• Part 1: Religion and State in Philosophy.- Chapter 1: Religious Reasons in Political Discourse.- Chapter 2: A Plantingan Response to Public Reason Accessibilism.- Chapter 3: Matters of Conscience.- Chapter 4: On the Definition of Religious Belief.- Chapter 5: Natural Law and the American Founding.- Part 2: Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment.- Chapter 6: Why Do We Think the Framers Wanted to Separate Church and State?- Chapter 7: American Church – State Relations: Jefferson’s Conception of Religious Freedom.- Chapter 8: A Liberal and Generous Toleration: John Adams and the Freedom for Religion.- Chapter 9: Nondiscrimination or Accommodation?: Two Competing Visions of the Free Exercise Clause.- Chapter 10: In Praise of Separationism: A Lamentation on the Demise of that Famous Paragraph in Everson v. Board of Education.- Chapter 11: The Requirement of Church and State to be Forever Separate.- Chapter 12: Why Church and State Should be Kept Separate but Politics and Religion Should Not.- Chapter 13: Is Religion Serious Enough to Be Taken Seriously?- Chapter 14: Does the Separation of Church and State Require Secularism?- Chapter 15: Miltonic Liberty and the Grounds for Disestablishment in A Treatise of Civil Power.- Chapter 16: A Marriage of Opposites: Tocqueville on Religion and Democracy.- Chapter 17: Public Spirit as Mediating Influence Between Tocqueville’s “Spirit of Religion” and “Spirit of Freedom”.- Part 3: Religion and Law in the American Courts.- Chapter 18: Testing Neutrality: The Courts’ Use of Legal Tests in Determining Establishment and Free Exercise Cases.- Chapter 19: Corporate Religious Liberty After Hobby Lobby.- Chapter 20: The Ministerial Exception and the Distinction between Church and State.- Chapter 21: The Definition of Marriage from Reynolds to Obergefell.- Chapter 22: The Separation of Church and State: The Court’s ‘Secular Purpose’ and the Argumentum ex Ignorantia.- Chapter 23: Changes in Conscience Clauses and the Effecton Religious Affiliated Hospitals and Health Care Practitioners.- Chapter 24: Title: A Very Private, Very Public Matter: Contraception and Religious Freedom.- Chapter 25: Religion and Education: A New Birth of Freedom for Unsettled Times.- Chapter 26: The Global State Church: The Political and Security Roles of Religion in Contemporary Education.- Chapter 27: Sexual Identity, Gender Ideology, and Religious Freedom: The Tug of War over “Who We Are” Schools as Battlegrounds.- Part 4: Religion and the State in Canada, Mexico, and South America.- Chapter 28: Religion and State in Canada.- Chapter 29: Religion and State in Mexico Roberto Blancart.- Chapter 30: Religion and State in Colombia.- Chapter 31: Religion and State in Argentina.- Chapter 32: Religion and State in Brazil.- Chapter 33: Religion and State in Chile.- Chapter 34: Religion and State in the Caribbean.

​Shannon Holzer is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Houston Christian University. He has earned degrees in the areas of religion, philosophy, and religion, politics, and society. Holzer earned his Ph.D. in Religion, Politics and Society from Baylor University’s J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies. He also holds a M.A. in Philosophy from Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. He has published in the areas of philosophy, law, politics, and religion. Holzer is often heard on Houston’s KTRH news commenting on religion, politics, and society.

• Part 1: Religion and State in Philosophy.- Chapter 1: Religious Reasons in Political Discourse.- Chapter 2: A Plantingan Response to Public Reason Accessibilism.- Chapter 3: Matters of Conscience.- Chapter 4: On the Definition of Religious Belief.- Chapter 5: Natural Law and the American Founding.- Part 2: Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment.- Chapter 6: Why Do We Think the Framers Wanted to Separate Church and State?- Chapter 7: American Church – State Relations: Jefferson’s Conception of Religious Freedom.- Chapter 8: A Liberal and Generous Toleration: John Adams and the Freedom for Religion.- Chapter 9: Nondiscrimination or Accommodation?: Two Competing Visions of the Free Exercise Clause.- Chapter 10: In Praise of Separationism: A Lamentation on the Demise of that Famous Paragraph in Everson v. Board of Education.- Chapter 11: The Requirement of Church and State to be Forever Separate.- Chapter 12: Why Church and State Should be Kept Separate but Politics and Religion Should Not.- Chapter 13: Is Religion Serious Enough to Be Taken Seriously?- Chapter 14: Does the Separation of Church and State Require Secularism?- Chapter 15: Miltonic Liberty and the Grounds for Disestablishment in A Treatise of Civil Power.- Chapter 16: A Marriage of Opposites: Tocqueville on Religion and Democracy.- Chapter 17: Public Spirit as Mediating Influence Between Tocqueville’s “Spirit of Religion” and “Spirit of Freedom”.- Part 3: Religion and Law in the American Courts.- Chapter 18: Testing Neutrality: The Courts’ Use of Legal Tests in Determining Establishment and Free Exercise Cases.- Chapter 19: Corporate Religious Liberty After Hobby Lobby.- Chapter 20: The Ministerial Exception and the Distinction between Church and State.- Chapter 21: The Definition of Marriage from Reynolds to Obergefell.- Chapter 22: The Separation of Church and State: The Court’s ‘Secular Purpose’ and the Argumentum ex Ignorantia.- Chapter 23: Changes in Conscience Clauses and the Effecton Religious Affiliated Hospitals and Health Care Practitioners.- Chapter 24: Title: A Very Private, Very Public Matter: Contraception and Religious Freedom.- Chapter 25: Religion and Education: A New Birth of Freedom for Unsettled Times.- Chapter 26: The Global State Church: The Political and Security Roles of Religion in Contemporary Education.- Chapter 27: Sexual Identity, Gender Ideology, and Religious Freedom: The Tug of War over “Who We Are” Schools as Battlegrounds.- Part 4: Religion and the State in Canada, Mexico, and South America.- Chapter 28: Religion and State in Canada.- Chapter 29: Religion and State in Mexico Roberto Blancart.- Chapter 30: Religion and State in Colombia.- Chapter 31: Religion and State in Argentina.- Chapter 32: Religion and State in Brazil.- Chapter 33: Religion and State in Chile.- Chapter 34: Religion and State in the Caribbean.