Church, State, and Original Intent

This provocative book shows how the United States Supreme Court has used constitutional history in church-state cases.

Donald L. Drakeman (Author)

9780521119184, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 November 2009

382 pages
24.3 x 16.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.66 kg

'… convincing and fine scholarship …' Reviews in Religion and Theology

This provocative book shows how the United States Supreme Court has used constitutional history in church-state cases. Donald L. Drakeman describes the ways in which the justices have portrayed the framers' actions in a light favoring their own views about how church and state should be separated. He then marshals the historical evidence, leading to a surprising conclusion about the original meaning of the First Amendment's establishment clause: the framers originally intended the establishment clause only as a prohibition against a single national church. In showing how conventional interpretations have gone astray, he casts light on the close relationship between religion and government in America and brings to life a fascinating parade of church-state constitutional controversies from the founding era to the present.

1. Introduction
2. Reynolds: the historical construction of constitutional reality
3. Everson: a case of premeditated law office history
4. The battle for the historical high ground
5. Original meanings: where is the historical highground?
6. Incorporating originalism
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Politics & government [JP]