Church-State Constitutional Issues Making Sense of the Establishment Clause

Subjects:

• Law » Constitutional Law
• Religious Studies » Religious Studies (General)

Reviews:

• Drakeman examines the history of the church and state issues in the US, explores the meaning of the establishment clause in the First Amendment, and proposes a new interpretive framework for preventing government from aiding any one religion or from discriminating against any particular religion. To arrive at his own interpretive framework, Drakeman reviews the context of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the establishment clause by chronicling the most significant constitutional cases from the 19th century until today. Reliance on the Founding Fathers' intent toward the establishment clause is considered flawed because the evidence of their intentions is too sparse, and no clear mandate of their feelings on the separation of church and state is evidenced in historical records. Thus, Drakeman rejects originalism and proposes the use of a religiously nonpreferential endorsement doctrine whereby religion is not given special treatment by the government, yet whereby a religious institution is not singled out as one type of charitable organization ineligible for available government benefits. Upper-division undergraduates and above.
  —Choice

• Endorsement From
  Edward McGlynn Gaffney, Jr.
  
  
  Dean, Valparaiso University Law School
  
  : Mr. Drakeman has succeeded in offering his readers a concise review of all the major cases in the Supreme Court interpreting the establishment clause, a sharp criticism of the Court's performance, and a useful alternative interpretation of how the clause might guide public policy. In an area of the law where controversy too easily becomes acrimonious, he remains serenely in control of his materials, objective, and balanced.
• Endorsement From
  John F. Wilson, Director
  
  
  Project on Church and State
  
  
  Princeton University
  
  : In this fresh and compelling study, Drakeman takes on the conundrum of the Establishment Clause. His tightly-argued analysis deftly reviews its origins, its modern application, and the controversy the clause continues to engender. Drakeman concludes his work by proposing how Justice O'Connor's criterion of `endorsement' could be developed as the means through which the Court might move beyond its current impasse. Church-State Constitutional Issues makes a significant contribution to the continuing discussion of this vexing topic.
• Endorsement From
  Dean M. Kelley
  
  
  Director, Religious and Civil Liberty
  
  
  National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
  : Drakeman has provided a useful historical overview of the adoption of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and its interpretation during the past two centuries. His estimate of the significance of its wording and his suggestions for a sensible and coherent theory of how it should be applied today will stimulate constructive dialogue among those who care deeply--pro or con--about its importance in the controverted relationship between government and religion.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• The Supreme Court and the Establishment Clause
• The Quest for the Historical Establishment Clause
• Church and State under the Establishment Clause: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years
• Establishing a New Approach
• Bibliography
• Index