Religion and Politics in the United States, Sixth Edition, offers a comprehensive account of the role of religious ideas, institutions and communities in American life. Through a detailed review of the political attitudes and behaviors of major religious and minority faith traditions, the book establishes that religion continues to be a major part of the American cultural and political milieu while explaining that it must interact with many other factors to impact political outcomes in the United States. The sixth edition reviews the role of religion in the 2008 election, and includes fully up-to-date coverage of how religion informs the civil rights struggles of women and gay Americans.