"Sheahan’s book offers a well-reasoned and persuasive argument and perhaps its appeal to social theories as opposed to strictly moral arguments could help us cut through our thickets of disagreement."—Political Science Quarterly
"Why Associations Matter is valuable not only for its nuanced discussion of associations and masterful legal analysis, but also for the important reminder that the Supreme Court does not operate within a vacuum."—Review of Politics
"The value of Sheahan’s book lies in its potential to vivify conversation around the innate value of social groups that should inform constitutionalism."—Journal of Church and State
“Sheahan offers hope for all those concerned about the future of community, providing a roadmap for moving beyond lamentation and into action. He carefully examines individual legal questions while keeping in mind the social and political whole.”—Claremont Review of Books
“In light of the current debate across the whole of US society over when individuals, groups, and corporations can discriminate based on religious beliefs, this is certainly a timely work.”—Choice
“[This book] could hardly be more timely and needed. In this short and easy-to-follow, yet thorough, work, Sheahan guides the reader through not only a crash course in why the right of free association is necessary for human life and liberty but also through the current state of First Amendment jurisprudence on the subject and a potential legal theory under which the right to association could be operationalized in the course.”—Mises Institute
“On one level Luke Sheahan’s excellent book is a practical, lawyerly brief aiming to correct a mistake in legal doctrine and public policy. At a deeper level, however, it is part of a crucial attempt to recover the way of thinking essential to ordered liberty.”—University Bookman
"Sheahan’s book advances an important conversation about how to appreciate the social dimension of life—including associations—in the face of an individualistic intellectual culture.”—Christianity Today
“Sheahan has successfully applied political theory and sociology to provide a solid theoretical foundation on which the Court might build robust protections for the First Amendment’s rights of associations.”—Public Discourse
“Blending brilliant sociological and philosophical insights with a profound rendering of how the First Amendment is supposed to protect freedom of association, this book by Luke C. Sheahan is truly magnificent. It should be on the shelf and in the mind of every scholar, journalist, judge, religious leader, policymaker, and citizen who wishes to understand, save, support, and strengthen America’s most vital civil society institutions.”—John J. DiIulio, Jr., professor, University of Pennsylvania, and founding director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
“Why Associations Matter is a welcome and valuable contribution to the lively and important conversation about the role that associations, groups, and societies play in the infrastructure of human freedom. Luke Sheahan reminds us that diverse and distinctive associations help to constrain government overreach and create space for human persons, who are fundamentally communal beings, to flourish. As he explains, a political community that is committed to meaningful diversity will protect and appreciate the rights of associations to be distinctive and different.”—Richard W. Garnett, Paul J. Schierl/Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
