Synopses & Reviews
School vouchers. The Pledge of Allegiance. The ban on government grants for theology students. The abundance of church and state issues brought before the Supreme Court in recent years underscores an incontrovertible truth in the American legal system: the relationship between the state and religion in this country is still fluid and changing.
This, the first of two volumes by historian and legal scholar James Hitchcock, provides the first comprehensive exploration of the Supreme Court's approach to religion, offering a close look at every case, including some that scholars have ignored.
Hitchcock traces the history of the way the Court has rendered important decisions involving religious liberty. Prior to World War II it issued relatively few decisions interpreting the Religious Clauses of the Constitution. Nonetheless, it addressed some very important ideas, including the 1819 Dartmouth College case, which protected private religious education from state control, and the Mormon polygamy cases, which established the principle that religious liberty was restricted by the perceived good of society.
It was not until the 1940s that a revolutionary change occurred in the way the Supreme Court viewed religion. During that era, the Court steadily expanded the scope of religious liberty to include many things that were probably not intended by the framers of the Constitution, and it narrowed the permissible scope of religion in public life, barring most kinds of public aid to religious schools and forbidding almost all forms of religious expression in the public schools. This book, along with its companion volume, From "Higher Law" to "Sectarian Scruples," offers a fresh analysis of the Court's most important decisions in constitutional doctrine. Sweeping in range, it paints a detailed picture of the changing relationship between religion and the state in American history.
Review
"The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life provides for the general reader a useful road map through the history and case law. The first of the two volumes tells the history rather comprehensively, with a minimum of interpretive overlay. The second tries to understand the story. Hitchcock's work is especially valuable for his extensive coverage of the Court's religion jurisprudence before the deluge--that is, before the 1940s, when the Court deliberately made itself a tribunal of the nation's religious disputes."--Russell Hittinger, First Things
Review
The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life provides for the general reader a useful road map through the history and case law. The first of the two volumes tells the history rather comprehensively, with a minimum of interpretive overlay. The second tries to understand the story. Hitchcock's work is especially valuable for his extensive coverage of the Court's religion jurisprudence before the deluge--that is, before the 1940s, when the Court deliberately made itself a tribunal of the nation's religious disputes. Russell Hittinger
Review
The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life provides for the general reader a useful road map through the history and case law. The first of the two volumes tells the history rather comprehensively, with a minimum of interpretive overlay. The second tries to understand the story. Hitchcock's work is especially valuable for his extensive coverage of the Court's religion jurisprudence before the deluge--that is, before the 1940s, when the Court deliberately made itself a tribunal of the nation's religious disputes. Russell Hittinger
Synopsis
School vouchers. The Pledge of Allegiance. The ban on government grants for theology students. The abundance of church-and-state issues brought before the Supreme Court in recent years underscores an incontrovertible truth in the American legal system: the relationship between the state and religion in this country is still fluid and changing. These two volumes by historian and legal scholar James Hitchcock provide the first comprehensive exploration of the Supreme Court's approach to religion as well as a critique of its jurisprudence over the past sixty years. Hitchcock discusses not only the high-profile decisions on state regulation of religious practices but also a variety of other cases, covering such issues as property rights and education. Volume one, The Odyssey of the Religion Clauses, provides a complete survey of religion cases that have come before the Court, including a number that scholars have ignored. Volume two, From "Higher Law" to "Sectarian Scruples," explores how the court after 1940 made a sharp break with the past, based on assumptions that are increasingly dubious. In his conclusion, Hitchcock argues that the modern Court's understanding of "establishment" threatens religious liberty. Both volumes of The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life offer a broad perspective on the development of constitutional doctrine on the separation of church and state, and the changing relationship between religion and the state of American history.
Synopsis
School vouchers. The Pledge of Allegiance. The ban on government grants for theology students. The abundance of church and state issues brought before the Supreme Court in recent years underscores an incontrovertible truth in the American legal system: the relationship between the state and religion in this country is still fluid and changing.
This, the first of two volumes by historian and legal scholar James Hitchcock, provides the first comprehensive exploration of the Supreme Court's approach to religion, offering a close look at every case, including some that scholars have ignored.
Hitchcock traces the history of the way the Court has rendered important decisions involving religious liberty. Prior to World War II it issued relatively few decisions interpreting the Religious Clauses of the Constitution. Nonetheless, it addressed some very important ideas, including the 1819 Dartmouth College case, which protected private religious education from state control, and the Mormon polygamy cases, which established the principle that religious liberty was restricted by the perceived good of society.
It was not until the 1940s that a revolutionary change occurred in the way the Supreme Court viewed religion. During that era, the Court steadily expanded the scope of religious liberty to include many things that were probably not intended by the framers of the Constitution, and it narrowed the permissible scope of religion in public life, barring most kinds of public aid to religious schools and forbidding almost all forms of religious expression in the public schools. This book, along with its companion volume, From "Higher Law" to "Sectarian Scruples," offers a fresh analysis of the Court's most important decisions in constitutional doctrine. Sweeping in range, it paints a detailed picture of the changing relationship between religion and the state in American history.
Synopsis
"This book and its companion volume provide a concise, but complete account of all the relevant cases since 1789 with sophisticated scholarly analysis. It is by far the best introduction I have seen to all that the Supreme Court has ever said about church and state. Hitchcock presents difficult and controversial material in a fair-minded manner, and the treatment of cases is remarkably free of polemic. A valuable and unique contribution to the field."
--Gerard V. Bradley, University of Notre Dame"Hitchcock covers a tremendous amount of American legal history and does so with remarkable clarity and brevity. His arguments are nuanced and always thought-provoking. The book compels a rethinking of prevailing legal doctrines and thus has the potential to have a significant impact on the continuing debate on the constitutional relationships between religion and American life."--Daniel Dreisbach, American University
Synopsis
"This book and its companion volume provide a concise, but complete account of all the relevant cases since 1789 with sophisticated scholarly analysis. It is by far the best introduction I have seen to all that the Supreme Court has ever said about church and state. Hitchcock presents difficult and controversial material in a fair-minded manner, and the treatment of cases is remarkably free of polemic. A valuable and unique contribution to the field."--Gerard V. Bradley, University of Notre Dame
"Hitchcock covers a tremendous amount of American legal history and does so with remarkable clarity and brevity. His arguments are nuanced and always thought-provoking. The book compels a rethinking of prevailing legal doctrines and thus has the potential to have a significant impact on the continuing debate on the constitutional relationships between religion and American life."--Daniel Dreisbach, American University
About the Author
James Hitchcock is Professor of History at St. Louis University. He is the author of six books, including "Catholicism and Modernity".
Table of Contents
Introduction to Volume 1 1
CHAPTER O NE
The Kingdom of This World 3
CHAPTER T WO
Belief and Action 18
CHAPTER T HREE
The Phantom Wall 32
CHAPTER F OUR
Clouds of Witnesses 43
CHAPTER F IVE
Expansion 60
CHAPTER S IX
Contraction 90
CHAPTER S EVEN
Religious Education and Public Support 122
C ONCLUSION 149
Notes 163
Bibliography 193
Index of Justices 205
Index of Cases 207
General Index 213