American narratives often celebrate the nation's rich heritage of
religious freedom. There is, however, a less told and often ignored
part of the story: the ways that intolerance and cultures of hate
have manifested themselves within American religious history and
culture.
In the first ever documentary survey of religious intolerance from
the colonial era to the present, volume editors John Corrigan and
Lynn S. Neal define religious intolerance and explore its history
and manifestations, including hate speech, discrimination,
incarceration, expulsion, and violence. Organized thematically, the
volume combines the editors' discussion with more than 150 striking
primary texts and pictures that document intolerance toward a
variety of religious traditions. Moving from anti-Catholic Ku Klux
Klan propaganda to mob attacks on Mormons, the lynching of Leo
Frank, the kidnapping of "cult" members, and many other episodes,
the volume concludes with a chapter addressing the changing face of
religious intolerance in the twenty-first century, with examples of
how the problem continues to this day.