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Religion and the Constitution, Volume 2: Establishment and Fairness
Contributor(s): Greenawalt, Kent (Author)
ISBN: 0691141142     ISBN-13: 9780691141145
Publisher: Princeton University Press
OUR PRICE:   $39.90  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: July 2009
Qty:
Annotation: "This is a superb overview of a broad range of First Amendment issues from a powerful analytic mind with a profound knowledge of the field."--Andrew Koppelman, Northwestern University

"This is the most important work on the Establishment Clause in the literature and it will remain so for a long time to come. Virtually every chapter breaks new ground."--Steven H. Shiffrin, Cornell Universiy

Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Law | Constitutional
- Religion | Religion, Politics & State
- Political Science | Civil Rights
Dewey: 342.730
Physical Information: 1.33" H x 6.3" W x 9.16" (1.80 lbs) 496 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers, particularly when religious groups seek exemption from laws that govern others. Should students in public schools be allowed to organize devotional Bible readings and prayers on school property? Does reciting under God in the Pledge of Allegiance establish a preferred religion? What does the Constitution have to say about displays of religious symbols and messages on public property? Religion and the Constitution presents a new framework for addressing these and other controversial questions that involve competing demands of fairness, liberty, and constitutional validity.

In this second of two major volumes on the intersection of constitutional and religious issues in the United States, Kent Greenawalt focuses on the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which forbids government from favoring one religion over another, or religion over secularism. The author begins with a history of the clause, its underlying principles, and the Supreme Court's main decisions on establishment, and proceeds to consider specific controversies. Taking a contextual approach, Greenawalt argues that the state's treatment of religion cannot be reduced to a single formula.

Calling throughout for acknowledgment of the way religion gives meaning to people's lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare.