The FBI and Religion - by Sylvester a Johnson & Steven Weitzman (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is the first to examine the fraught relationship between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a variety of religious groups that have developed in the United States in the century of the FBI's existence. Encompassing religious communities that run the gamut from established religious institutions to violent extremist groups, and covering a period that includes the World Wars, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, and 9/11, Truth Faith and Allegiance tackles questions of importance for understanding the history of American religion, the history of law enforcement, and the future of religious liberty"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has had a long and tortuous relationship with religion over almost the entirety of its existence. As early as 1917, the Bureau began to target religious communities and groups it believed were hotbeds of anti-American politics. Whether these religious communities were pacifist groups that opposed American wars, or religious groups that advocated for white supremacy or direct conflict with the FBI, the Bureau has infiltrated and surveilled religious communities that run the gamut of American religious life.

The FBI and Religion recounts this fraught and fascinating history, focusing on key moments in the Bureau's history. Starting from the beginnings of the FBI before World War I, moving through the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War, up to 9/11 and today, this book tackles questions essential to understanding not only the history of law enforcement and religion, but also the future of religious liberty in America.

From the Back Cover

"Based on my government experience and knowledge, I find this book one of the best I have read in quite a while. Interesting, innovative, and insightful."--Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor of International Affairs, University of Georgia

"A devastating portrait of the FBI as a regulatory agent in the history of religions. The authors prove that the FBI does not just surveil and capture criminals. It defines, classifies, and punishes those who organize collectively and speak prophetically in modern America."--Kathryn Lofton, Yale University

Review Quotes

"This fine book will be useful in courses that seek to examine relations between religion, society, and efforts at social control . . . Highly recommended."

-- "CHOICE"

"A provocative history. . . . highly recommend[ed] . . . for any scholar, government employee, religious practitioner, and anyone residing in the US."-- "Reading Religion"

"The quality of this volume is impeccable."-- "European Legacy"

"These consistently interesting essays provide a complex, provocative, and sometimes disturbing view of the interactions between an important United States institution and religious groups for more than a century."-- "Nova Religio"

"The story of the FBI and religion is not a series of isolated mishaps, argues a new book of essays edited by Steven Weitzman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Sylvester A. Johnson, a professor at Northwestern University. Over its 109 years of existence, these historians and their colleagues argue, the Bureau has shaped American religious history through targeted investigations and religiously tinged rhetoric about national security."-- "The Atlantic" (2/26/2017 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Sylvester A. Johnson is Associate Professor of African American Studies and Religious Studies at Northwestern University.

Steven P. Weitzman is the Abraham Ellis Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies.