The United States will enter the twenty-first century with an increasingly diverse, unequal, and divided population. Longstanding tensions persist between ethnic groups, rich and poor, and immigrants and the native-born. New sources of strain involve sexual and gender minorities, those who possess alternate family forms, and white and nonwhite immigrants, as well as the widening gulf between rich and poor Americans.

A Nation Divided offers a fresh approach to these controversial issues. In this volume, leading social scientists explore the potentially explosive combination of diversity and inequality. Using the latest theory and research, the authors show how different groups become socially and economically unequal and how such patterns of "durable inequality" affect national stability. They also discuss strategies for reducing durable inequality and creating social harmony. Their contributions address the changing demography of diversity and inequality and the interplay of diversity, inequality, and community in educational institutions, the military, the family, popular culture, and religion.