The Impossibility of Religious Freedom (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO the trial in the Warner case took place in the City of Boca Raton, which is located in the southern..." (more)
Key Phrases: regarding religious exercise, independent religious significance, vertical grave markers, United States, First Amendment, The Witness (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The First Amendment is stirring second thoughts among scholars wary of the social and legal consequences of religious liberty. Herself a witness for the plaintiffs, Sullivan recounts the tangled courtroom drama in a Boca Raton case in which a group of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish families unsuccessfully sought a religious exemption to city ordinances prohibiting any vertical cemetery memorials (including upright crosses, statues, candles, and Stars of David). What emerges from Sullivan's carefully documented analysis of the case is the irreducible diversity of American religions-and the profound difficulty of accommodating such a wide range of beliefs, especially when individual convictions and practices diverge from official orthodoxies. Consequently, in reluctantly ruling against the Boca Raton plaintiffs, the judge voices perplexities now all too typical of American jurists trying to balance the rights of individual conscience against the demands of public order and democratic governance. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"... implies we have overestimated the amount of real religious differences that even a tolerant democracy can handle". -- Christopher Caldwell, Financial Times --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691130582
• ISBN-13: 978-0691130583
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #321,457 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A diferent look at the separation of church and state in America, September 30, 2008

By	J. Michalski (OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dr. Sullivan gives a new look at what the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause mean in America. The case in Boca Raton clearly shows that the judicial system is at odds protecting our religious liberties and trying to sustain the idea that the state can not endorse any religion. We also get a look at the bias that some judges have against religions that are not of their own. A great read for students of law, religion, and the humanities.