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To An Unknown God: Religious Freedom On Trial

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The very first part of the essential, very first amendment to our Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This ringing phrase, so seemingly simple and obvious, has been the focus of an enormous amount of controversy and clarification. It is a great legacy, but what does it really mean? We are still struggling to find out. In _To an Unknown God: Religious Freedom on Trial_ (St. Martin's Press) by Garrett Epps we learn how one of the latest struggles is turning out. It is a fine book to show in detail how a specific constitutional decision came to be made.

On one side of the story was Al Smith. Smith was born into the Klamath tribe, but was pulled out of it to go to Catholic boarding school. Rather late in his life he was introduced to sweat lodges and Native American religion. He was also introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous, and eventually became a respected counselor, speaker, and organizer of treatment centers for alcohol and drug abuse. As he traveled to different reservations to set up recovery programs, he came across peyote religion. It seemed to give some of his clients spiritual strength, and they seemed to do better in overcoming substance abuse if they participated in its religious ceremonies. He began to consider participating in peyote religion. He was told that taking peyote at a ceremony would violate the rules of the treatment center in which he worked, and so he did so. He was thereupon fired, and he filed for unemployment compensation. That filing set the stage for a subsequent battle within the Supreme Court and beyond.

On the other side was Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. He had tried in his political offices in Oregon to mend fences with the tribes of his region. He was, however, very worried about the dangers of drug abuse, and so he felt he was doing the right thing in trying to squelch community acceptance of drugs, ceremonial or not. He approached the Supreme Court proceedings with the mantra, "Drugs are bad. Slippery slope." Not only was peyote illegal, but it was used in a minority religion; if it were allowed, then surely someone would be asking to use other drugs for religious purposes. But he did reflect sadly to his legal team, "How did we get to be the Indian bashers?"

Epps is not only a journalist and lawyer, but also a novelist. His ability to describe personalities and anecdotes serves him well, for although this is a legal story, the human stories within it are what make it live. He has used process of the legal arguments as a springboard for an examination of many connected subjects: the history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the story of Alcoholics Anonymous; the tale of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the Oregon town that was taken over by his devotees; the saga of the Road Man who is the ceremonial leader of the peyote religion. These set pieces are fascinating, and strengthen the main story. It is disconcerting that there is no pat final resolution, but Epps writes, "The law of religious freedom remains unsettled." Thus may it ever be.

Epps' book is one of the best in recent memory to explore a Supreme Court case. Examining the case of Oregon v. Smith, Epps deploys his skills as both a journalist and a novelist to plumb the depths of Indian rights, religious freedom and states rights. The only quibble one can have is that the book spends too much time on the minutae of Oregon Attorney General Frohnmeyer's life. Other than that minor matter, this is an elegantly told tale. As an aside, Epps presents a concise yet complete recouncting of the Rajhneesh cult saga of the '80's, relying to good effect of the work of Oregon Magazine Editor-in-Chief Win McCormack.

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this book, and I found it astonishingly good. I had loved Epps's work as a novelist (his "Shad Treatment" is one of the best first novels I know) and I had always wondered if he could apply his writerly powers to non-fiction, as well. "To an Unknown God" draws on all the creative gifts that fans of Epps's earlier books will remember. He takes an important Supreme Court case about religious freedom (he's now a law professor) and tells the story through the remarkable personalities who were involved in the case: Al Smith, the Native American member of a peyote cult who was the plaintiff, and David Frohnmeyer, the all-American Republican wunderkind attorney general of Oregon, who argued that peyote use wasn't protected as an exercise of religious freedom. Epps deconstructs these billboard identities to provide a rich and very moving account of the real people and the heartbreaking pressures that shaped their actions in this legal case. This is a rare book--taking the sometimes dry subject of law and filling it with life. I hope it's a promise of more books to come from Epps, who is a vastly talented writer.

Using both his brilliant legal mind, the journalistic skill he developed as president of The Harvard Crimson and later at the Washington Post, and the storytelling abilities he showed in his novels, Garrett Epps tells a truly remarkable story in his book To An Unknown God. With a deft hand, Epps tells a fascinating tale that in a lesser writer's hands could have been simply legal obfuscation or else simply melodrama. Luckily, Epps is able to avoid both and tell a story that truly evokes its characters like a novel while still making the complex legal issues involved with the Smith case fascinating. Indeed, Epps's ability to make passages on Oregon land-use laws or the free exercise clause actually interesting to laymen perhaps best comparable to Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action. What makes To An Unknown God even more fascinating than a legal drama like A Civil Action is the human drama--the classic conflict between two men, each the other's opposite: one, a Harvard educated Rhodes Scholar attorney general, the other, a down on his luck recovering alcoholic Native American man fired from his job. The story is not only about the legal battle, but the men's personal triumphs and defeats as they fought for their lives, families, and livelihoods. A must read for the casual reader and scholar alike.

This book is one of the best looks at a Supreme Court case in quite some time. Examining Oregon v. Smith, one of the most important yet unheralded legal battles of our time, Epps' book plumbs the depths Indian rights, religious freedom and states rights in a manor which devestates the intellectual pretensions of Court conservatives such as Justice Scalia. The only quible one can have with the book it that it has too much detail on Oregon Attorney General Frohnmeyer. Other than that minor matter, this is a top rate book. Of additional note, the book provides an exceptionaly concise yet comprehensive overview of the Rajhneesh cult afair in Oregon, relying to good effect on the journalism of Oregon Magazine's Win McCormack.

This highly readable book tells the story of Al Smith, Native American, who was fired and denied unemplyment benefits for taking peyote during a religious ceremony. It also relates the story of the government lawyer and why he pursued the case. The book explains what the case about, amd it brings to life the people involved.

Epps shows an amazing amount of research into the topic of Indian religion and Oregon's Laws, all the while forming the backgrounds of two lovable and complex characters in this case. 'To an Unknown God' is a thrilling legal read that examines the trial from well before start to finish and provides an extremely in depth analysis of the case that somehow avoids feeling tedious or overwhelming due to the polished writing and perspective of Epps.

I highly recommend this book as it will certainly provide great insight into a generally unknown (no pun intended) and misunderstood religion and culture as it outlines the case that entirely changed American religious freedom in the 1990's.

Shipping was superb, I received the book in 2 days flat through Amazon Prime and it arrived in great condition (although it is now quite used after being read with great enthusiasm).

This book could easily have been a bore--yet another detailed legal explication of a Supreme Court case you know you should be interested in, but aren't, because you can't follow the jargon. But in Epps' hands an amazing story comes to life. This is serious constitutional law, with enormous consequences for our country, and it reads like a novel. Anyone concerned with religion and free expression should read it. Or you could just read it because it's a great read!