Foreordained Failure: The Quest for a Constitutional Principle of Religious Freedom [Paperback]

Steven D. Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195132483 | ISBN-13: 978-0195132489 | Publication Date: April 22, 1999

Ever since the Supreme Court began enforcing the First Amendment's religion clauses in the 1940s, courts and scholars have tried to distill the meaning of those clauses into a useable principle of religious freedom. In this highly original work, Smith criticizes the main positions in the debate and explains their misconceptions. He argues that efforts to find a principle of religious freedom in the "original meaning" are fruitless because the clauses were purely jurisdictional in nature: they were meant to place authority over questions of religion with the states, and nothing more. Contending that the perennial quest to distill religious freedom into a "principle," is futile, Smith advocates a fundamental reassessment of the premises upon which courts have proceeded in this area.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Foreordained Failure thoroughly treats the constitutional issue of the basic principles underlying the right of freedom of religion; it is politically significant at this time because of the growing power of the religious right in our society....It is a provocative essay, and its points deserve wide discussion. It is clearly written and very well documented."--Choice

"Steven Smith's Foreordained Failure is perhaps the most important book ever written on the religion clauses of the Constitution. If Smith is correct, the widely acknowledged failure of religion clause jurisprudence can be seen as the inevitable consequence of a fundamental misunderstanding of the clauses' scope and purposes. No court or academic commentator dealing with the clauses can ignore Smith's arguments."--Larry A. Alexander, University of San Diego School of Law

"Steven Smith is one of the most imaginative new voices in contemporary legal studies."--Michael J. Perry, Northwestern University School of Law

"An excellent work, replete with original and important insights. What makes Foreordained Failure so powerful and important is that it runs dead against the grain of conventional liberal thought about the institution of judicial review generlly and the correct interpretations of the religion clauses particularly."--Ira C. Lupu, The George Washington University

"Smith's approach is refreshing because he is concerned with asking the right questions and not with advancing his answers."--The Appellate Practice Journal

About the Author

Steven D. Smith is Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame. He has taught and published extensively on legal subjects, including constitutional law and jurisprudence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195132483
• ISBN-13: 978-0195132489
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #518,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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