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Department of Political Science

Steven P. Brown

Jane Dickerson Lanier Associate Professor

Steve Brown received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and has taught at Auburn since 1998. He teaches several courses in American Constitutional Law as well as Religion and Politics, Law and Society, and Introduction to American Government. His research interests focus primarily on church and state issues. In 2005, his book, Trumping Religion: The New Christian Right, The Free Speech Clause and the Courts received the National Communication Association's Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression. In 2006, he received the National Faculty of the Year Award from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He also serves as an instructor with the Election Center in providing professional education training to elections officials nationwide.

Interest Areas

Public Law, Religion and Politics, American National Institutions

Representative Publications

  • "Mirroring Madison: The Historic and Continuing Influence of James Madison on the United States Supreme Court," in James Madison: Philosopher, Founder, and Statesman, ed. William D. Pederson and John R. Vile, Ohio University Press, (forthcoming 2008).
  • "Blood and Precedent: Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah," in Creating Constitutional Change, ed. Gregg Ivers and Kevin McGuire, University of Virginia Press, 2004.
  • "Public Schools and Religious Expression: An Analysis of the Diversity of School Board Policies Regarding Religious Expression" (with Dr. Cynthia Bowling), Journal of Church and State 45 (Spring 2003), 259-281.
  • Trumping Religion: The New Christian Right, the Free Speech Clause, and the Courts, University of Alabama Press, 2002. Paperback edition published 2004.

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Last updated 05/20/2008