Becket attorney’s new book calls for bolder vision of religious liberty William Haun’s ‘Not to Caesar but to Peter’ explains how the Catholic Church’s legal authority provides a basis for religious freedom

WASHINGTON – Becket senior counsel William Haun’s new book, “Not to Caesar but to Peter: Why the Catholic Church is a Perfect Society,” is available for preorder now ahead of its October release from Angelico Press. Drawing on the Catholic Church’s self-understanding as a complete, self-sufficient (in the Aristotelian sense, “perfect”) society, Haun explains how the Catholic Church’s claimed legal authority provides a stable basis for religious liberty in civil law. 

Haun argues that if the Church remembers this traditional claim of her legal authority, that understanding can improve U.S. law’s commitment to protecting religious liberty for religious institutions and communities. In so doing, the Church can respond to common misunderstandings about the proper relationship between the Catholic Church and the state—from those who see the Church as just another social club in civil society to those who see it as an instrument of power that should be “integrated” with the state “from within.” 

Haun will discuss “Not to Caesar but to Peter” at upcoming events hosted by the Catholic University of America, the Catholic Information Center, and the American Enterprise Institute.

Praise for “Not to Caesar but to Peter”: 

“This is a timely, intriguing study well worth the read, a recovery of what Christ intended for His Church, and what James Madison intended for our country.” — Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York  

“William Haun explores the significance of the Catholic Church possessing a God-given authority that transcends political powers.” — Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco

“Will Haun has written what is sure to become the standard text on Catholic ecclesiology in the context of the tradition of American pluralism.” — Father Pius Pietrzyk, O.P., Vicar for Administration for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, USA

“‘Not to Caesar but to Peter’ is the single best book I’ve read on how Catholics should engage the world today. Catholic bishops, priests, and laity need to take up Haun’s brilliant book, study it, and share it with other people of good will.” — Professor Patrick Brennan, John F. Scarpa Chair in Catholic Legal Studies, Villanova University School of Law

“This profound and clarifying book is simply an essential read for anyone concerned for the future of religious communities in modern America.” — Yuval Levin, author of “American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation and Could Again”

“‘Not to Caesar but to Peter’ makes sense of the contentious battles between Church and State, and liberalism and post-liberalism.” — Timothy P. Carney, AEI Senior Fellow and Washington Examiner Senior Columnist 

“A deep and thoughtful reflection about what religious freedom once was, and might again become.” — Professor Marc DeGirolami, the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law

“William Haun urges the Church to remember her rights and responsibilities as a self-sufficient society, with legal authority. He points the way to a jurisprudence consistent with Christ’s insistence that there are things that are not Caesar’s.” — Professor Richard Garnett, Notre Dame Law School 

“William Haun’s ‘Not to Caesar but to Peter’ is a welcome intervention in the debates surrounding post-liberalism, integralism, and religious liberty generally. His book is a major contribution to legal theory, clearly, but also to history and to policy debates.” — Professor Andrew Willard Jones, College of St. Joseph the Worker

“Will Haun’s ‘Not to Caesar but to Peter’ provides deep insight into how to seriously defend and advance the Catholic Church’s legitimate juridical autonomy.” — Steven D. Minnis, President, Benedictine College 

“Will Haun’s book will be jarring to the sensibilities of both complacent secular or religious liberals and of so-called Catholic ‘integralists’; that is precisely why it is such a trenchant and timely contribution.” — Steven D. Smith, author of “The Disintegrating Conscience and the Decline of Modernity” 

“Haun’s argument offers a vital path forward that preserves post-liberalism’s deepest insights without embracing its counterrevolutionary politics.” — Kevin Vallier, author of “All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism”

“Haun’s bold insistence on the Church’s proper role holds out the promise of a reinvigorated religious liberty jurisprudence.” — Mark Rienzi, President, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

The contents of this book do not necessarily reflect the views or legal positions of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty or its clients.

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, contact Ryan Colby at [email protected] or 202-349-7219.