The Constitution & Religion : Leading Supreme Court Cases on Church and State [Paperback]

Robert S. Alley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

This superb collection chronicles the most important Supreme Court cases on church-state relations over the past three decades. It includes extensive coverage of the Court's major decisions concerning prayer in state legislatures, the pledge of allegiance, display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, religious displays on public property, school prayer, vouchers for religious schools, religion in science class, and much more. Beginning with a carefully prepared historical overview, which places the first amendment in the context of 18th-century debates over religious freedom, Robert Alley offers a fresh analysis of the amendment's origins. He then presents fifty recent and historical cases without editorial comment, permitting readers to arrive at their own individual interpretations. In addition to the text of the majority decision, each case is followed by the vote of the justices as well as selected dissenting opinions. Unlike news accounts and other texts, this unique volume is the only objective presentation of the justices' decisions, in the Court's own words, and it includes the entire canon of subjects that bear the label 'church and state'. This clearly written, accessible book will be valuable for classroom use, as a library resource, and as an excellent introductory reader for anyone interested in what the Supreme Court has decided on religion in public places and schools.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an outstanding historical overview of the passage of the religion clauses . . . a useful desk guide." -- Wisconsin Lawyer, April 2000

"A fine collection that will make major Supreme Court cases accessible to college students..." -- Journal of Church and State, Summer 2000

"An objective presentation of the most important Supreme Court cases on church-state relations over the past three decades." -- Contact Publications, February 2000

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573927031
• ISBN-13: 978-1573927031
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reader-friendly text of high court church-state cases, September 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Constitution & Religion : Leading Supreme Court Cases on Church and State (Paperback)

Don't listen to what right-wing TV preachers and blowhards like Bill Bennett say about the Supreme Court's church-state rulings. Read them for yourself. They're all here in this book. Do you believe prayer has been banned from public schools? Think again. Read the 1962 and 1963 school prayer decisions in this book. You may be surprised when you learn that only government-sponsored, mandatory prayer and Bible reading has been removed. Truly voluntary prayer has always been legal and still is. Lots of folks are intimidated by the thick, dusty tomes in law libraries. This book is for the layperson. It's accessible and affordable. Buy it and find out for yourself what the Supreme Court has really said about church and state.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AUTHOR'S RESPONSE TO SECOND REVIEW FROM WHEATON, MD, May 4, 2000

By 

robert s. alley (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Constitution & Religion : Leading Supreme Court Cases on Church and State (Paperback)

I am extremely pleased with the review of the volume of which I am the Editor. But there is one caveat. The reviewer noted that the book gave only a sentence to the case "Edwards v. Aguillard" On pages 219-231 that case is, in fact, presented, including the Scalia dissent.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Reference Work, January 6, 2000

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Constitution & Religion: Leading Supreme Court Cases on Church and State (Hardcover)

This is an excellent reference work providing the reader with the actual text of Supreme Court decisions involving the first amendment and religion. The majority opinion and dissenting opinion(s) are presented with occasional abridgement. Most of these cases fall in three main categories:

1. Support to religious schools 2. Religion in public schools 3. Restrictions on the free exercise of one's religion

The editor, Mr. Alley, provides no critique of the Supreme Court's action in these matters, so one doesn't actually critique the book in the normal sense. What the Court has written, it has written. My only disappointment was in finding that a brief summary was sometimes presented in lieu of any Court opinions. Mr. Alley undoubtedly had book size restrictions to consider (the book is 545 pages long), and presumably he gave short shrift to cases that were less (in his opinion) important, or were based significantly on reasoning established in prior cases.

As an example, I have a strong interest in the creationist vs. evolution controversy. The Epperson vs. Arkansas case concerning teaching creationism in public schools was presented in a half page summary. A similar case involving a state law in Louisiana, Edwards vs. Aguillard, was dismissed in one sentence.

In balance, however, it's a great reference book. I can see that this would be an outstanding resource for students writing term papers on the subject of the first amendment and religion.