Customer Reviews

God on Trial: Landmark Cases from America's Religious Battlefields

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Mr. Irons, while clearly a member of the separationist camp in the matter of religious expressions involving government support, is quite fair to the opposition. They are profiled as often as the plaintiffs in his descriptions of five recent cases, and treated respectfully. If you have ever wondered "How does a high school football pre-game prayer in small-town Texas wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court?" this is the book that tells you. Other cases include postings of the Ten Commandments, erections of Christian crosses on city lands, the words "under God" as part of the Pledge of Allegiance, and the endorsement of "Intelligent Design" in biology classes at the Dover, Pa. high school. I chose this from my public library shelf as a "back-up" book in case the one I really wanted to read turned out to be too dull. Which it did. After I started reading this, I found it to be fascinating. We "separationists" have not been victorious in all of the fights mentioned above, and some of them are still in the process. No matter which side you think you are on, however, this volume will be useful to you.

This book is about recent cases involving the establishment clause of the First Amendment which is the legal basis requiring separation between church and state. My first serious introduction to establishment clause cases came in 1985 during my second year of law school when I wrote a comment article about Wallace v. Jaffree (the moment of silence case) for the law review competition. The contentious nature of establishment clause cases was made clear when about a dozen classmates told me I would never make law review because of my politically-incorrect position (the law school was on a very liberal campus where the anti-military students went about dressed in surplus combat fatigues--"Che le vie"). This book begins with an excellent overview of the cultural, legal, and political history of the relationship between church and government, and then moves on to chapters that focus on recent establishment clause cases. A major strength of the book is its descriptions of the parties and the processes by which the cases make their way through the judicial system. Most of the chapters end with interview-based biographical content about some of the people involved in the cases, which sheds an interesting light on the backgrounds, beliefs, and motives of the kinds of people who raise and defend against charges that certain practices cause too much entanglement between government and religion. The author should be commended for structuring the book so that it brings forth the context and issues in a way that is genuinely interesting and concurrently provides material for forming your own opinions. The style is very readable and devoid of pretentious legal or scholarly jargon. For example, the word "tripartite" is never used when discussing the "Lemon test." It is very difficult for most people not to have biases with respect to religion cases but I think author makes a bona fide attempt to be balanced. In my opinion, there is a slight bias towards the separationist camp shown in the facts that are included in the book and those that are left out. However, the book mostly depicts the participants in a fair and generally-positive light and it is definitely not an ideological rant. The book also confirms my belief that people can be respectful of other people and their beliefs, even when their own beliefs are diametrically opposed--a fact that I found out when I was selected for law review.

The first two chapters of GOT review the historical background of the First Amendment, including the shocking religious intolerance in early American territories, various arguments surrounding the First Amendment's passage in 1789, its original inapplicability to state governments, more religious strife in the 1800s, the "incorporation" process through which the First Amendment was finally ruled to be binding on the states too, and some of the first "separation" cases. Of particular interest were the all too brief sections indicating that, just as the Devil can quote Scripture for his purposes, so too can Supreme Court justices quote historical figures for their purposes. Also interesting was the history of the origin of "Americans United for Separation of Church and State." I don't want to give away the whole plot, but in the beginning, Americans United was not exactly opposed by evangelical Protestants!

Chapter 3 provides some background data on Barry Lynn and Jay Sekulow, the most prominent Separationist and Religious Right lawyers today.

Chapters 4 through 8 describe six prominent separation cases: the Mount Soledad Cross in San Diego; the Football-Game Prayer in Santa Fe, TX; Ten Commandments cases from KY and TX; the Pledge of Allegiance case from Elk Grove, CA; and the Intelligent Design vs. evolution case from Dover, PA. Each chapter reviews the historical background and facts of the case, including key parts of its litigation history (Newdow's appearance before the Supreme Court in the Pledge of Allegiance case was particularly interesting); summarizes the final decision, usually a Supreme Court decision; and then comments on key aspects of the decision, including how it fits in with other rulings. Each chapter also includes a background sketch of one or two of the plaintiffs and defendants in the case.

The background sketches, including those of Lynn and Sekulow, were only mildly interesting. Some of them showed how courageous the plaintiffs were in standing up to the bullying and violent threats of the so-called "Christians" who opposed them; but several served only to show how ordinary the participants in the cases were. That's an interesting fact itself, of course, but I personally would've preferred a bit more on the legal issues and a bit less on the personalities.

Peter Irons has more than proven himself as an exciting and knowledged writer on the Supreme Court. His book "People's History of the Supreme Court" was a very entertaining and astute (albeit politically slanted) read.

Where that book was an encyclopedic view of the entire history of the Supreme Court, this book is a very microscopic view at six cases revolving around a single clause of the First Amendment. This book focuses recent challenges to the Establishment Clause - all involving gorups that challenged either the constitutionality of religious displays on public lands (Ten Commandments in front of court houses, a Cross in a public park), or religious materials on public property (being forced to say the Pledge - "under god" - in a public school, Intelligent Design being mentioned in a public school biology class).

Many of these cases, of course, are very new and fresh to most of our memories. A most exciting chapter was on the Newdow case, where a resident of Oak Grove, California decided to argue his own case all the way to the supreme court that mandating recitation of the Pledge to the flag (without deleting the two religious words) was unconstitutional in a public school. There is also a chapter on two very similar, yet different, cases involving challenges to the Ten Commandments being posted outside of a city courthouse. (Apparently, the US derives its laws from the Ten commandments, even though the first commandment, commanding us to worship no false idols, is DIRECTLY countered by the first amendment of our own non-deity-mentioning constitution. Hiow about that?)

The two really great things about this book are that while I might feel at liberty to go "editorial" in my review (see above), Peter Irons brings a much higher level of professionalism to the table here. He is very generous towards all sides of the argument, and never editorializes or slants, as he has been rightly accused of doing in his People's History.

Another very nice thing about this book is that at the end of each chapter, he lets us hear from one person per "side" in their own words. One person who played a part in each side of the case just gone over gets to tell us who they are and why they did what they did. (The only thing that is occasionally maddening about this section is that it sounds like he let them speak, rather than write, which leads to very ungramattical results at times.)

To close, this is a very thrilling book that illustrates to us how very important our First Amendment is. These battles, often unlike cases that are about, say, the Third or Fourth Amendments, are very heated, as their nature touches on very deeply held beliefs.

In addition to detailed coverage of six important Establishment Clause legal cases from their genesis to conclusion (albeit, some still undecided) Irons provides in-depth insight into the personalities behind the Religious Right and the opposing "Separationists"; their personal histories, thought processes, goals, and the organizations that stand behind their ideology.

This is must read for anyone, theist or atheist, who respects the vision of our Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and cherishes the freedoms that the 1st Amendment's religion Establishment Clause was meant to preserve for non-believers as well as believers.

Whether you're an activist in the fight against theocracy, or a student of the "culture war" in which we are all either spectators or avid warriors, this book is THE gold standard for understanding where we've been, where we are going, and what's driving this most divisive and important issue of our time.

Without excessive use of legalese, it's easy for the layman to understand. Irons' writing style and expert analysis makes this both an entertaining and educational experience.

We needed this book for an adult ed course we were taking. It certainly has been helpful. The autobiographical features at the end of each chapter are not well written in many cases and much too long. Excellent presentation of legal matters unknown to most. This is not a book for the casual browser.

This is an excellent format for this subject. The author gives backgrounds leading up to the big issue case. So you get an understanding of a variety of factors the led to the lawsuits and court cases. He also allows participants from both sides to give their own post-decision notes and personal biography. I hope readers will find, as I did, this book gives an open, fair reporting of these cases. You will see passionate views, but you will also see respect for opponents in the cases. Finally he gives a great reference for additional reading and links to documents on the cases. Read this, especially if you are open to learning about other peoples viewpoints on religious freedom and tolerance issues in America.

The author does an excellent job of writing about several of the most important cases in the church-state debate. It's written for you average reader, not necessarily for attorneys. The sections on the major actors on each of the court cases add a personal narrative. Regardless of which side your on, you recognize the sincerity of the various sides--except, perhaps, for the confirmed liars on the school board in the dover case.

It is difficult nowadays to get an objective, nuanced opinion on USA, neither flattering nor biased against it. If I were to recommend a way to try and achieve this, I would suggest reading several good books on the matter, including this one among them.

Mixing law, sociology, and journalism, Peter Irons (USA political activist, civil rights attorney, legal scholar, professor of political science, and author of several best-sellers) provides in this book detailed and penetrating accounts of six USA Constitution First Amendment religion cases, several of which went to the USA Supreme Court: the San Diego case against a 43-foot Latin Cross erected in a veterans cemetery in San Diego; the football-game prayer case from Santa Fe, Texas, two Ten Commandments cases, the attempt to remove "under God " from the Pledge of Allegiance and the Intelligent Design case in Dover, PA. They are dramatic cases because they involve concrete objects, or in some case language, that is seen as symbolic of the USA's Christian heritage, and where people feel they are being challenged at the very root of their value systems. Peter Irons includes first-person monologues from both sides of each case that reveal the passions and rationales at work in these conflicts. His reportage of the background, ensuing litigation, and judicial opinions is objective although Irons' sympathies are clear: he sides with the challengers.

I could not put it down, and read this book in less than a week's time (content: 4 to 5 starts; pleasure: 4 to 5). I recommend it.

Other books on the USA I would also recommend are the following:

A) Dealing with constitutional and political ideas:

1) "America's Constitution: A Biography" by Akhil Reed Amar;

2) Constitutional History of the American Revolution [ABRIDGED]" by John Philip Reid; and

3) "Lincoln's Constitution" by Daniel A. Farber.

B) Other books chosen with an approach historically impressionistic:

4) "The Death Penalty", by Stuart Banner;

5) "The Churching Of America, 1776-2005: Winners And Losers In Our Religious Economy" by Roger Finke and Rodney Stark;

6) "American Colonies. The settling of North America", by Alan Taylor;and

7) "Battle cry of freedom. The Civil War Era" by James M. McPherson

I thought the cases were fascinating, but it took forever to get to the jist or the story. This is a cross between a book written for lawyers, one written for the public, and an autobiographical sketch of the author. I would have preferred more cases, less autobiog and not so much legal history.