Religious Freedom: Rights and Liberties under the Law

by Melvin I. Urofsky

Overview

This volume provides in a single source a thorough grounding in the origin, development, and current controversies surrounding the free practice of religion.

The first boatloads of European settlers did not come to America advocating religious tolerance. They came seeking the freedom to practice their own religion. Other sects, they believed, were wrong at best and, at worst, not to be tolerated.

The question of what constitutes "legitimate," constitutionally protected religious practice has been debated ever since. Does it include the use of peyote? Polygamy? Refusing medical care for a sick child? Freedom of Religion follows the evolving understanding of the concept of religious freedom from Great Britain to the New World, through hundreds of U.S. courtrooms, to the volatile modern-day issues of school prayer and faith-based initiatives. The thorough, responsible, and cool-headed analysis presented here offers readers a solid grounding in the constitutional issues behind the headlines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781576073124
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/03/2002
Series:	America's Freedoms
Pages:	436
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.12(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Melvin I. Urofsky is director of the doctoral program in public policy and professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Table of Contents

	Series Foreword	xi
	Preface and Acknowledgments	xxi
1	Introduction	1
	Conclusion	16
	References	16
2	Origins and Development	19
	Origins	20
	History	24
	Founding Principles	28
	The Constitution	31
	Development	34
	References	50
3	The Establishment Clause	53
	Historical Origins	54
	School Prayers	65
	Evolution and Creationism	74
	Aid to Parochial Schools	78
	The Lemon Test	83
	The Burger Court and School Aid	86
	A Resurgence of Fundamentalism	91
	Another Effort to Reinstate School Prayer	97
	The Rehnquist Court and Accommodation	101
	Conclusion	110
	References	111
4	The Free Exercise Clause	113
	The Mormons and Polygamy	118
	Jehovah's Witnesses and the Flag Salute	127
	Finding an Accommodation for Religion	140
	Conscientious Objectors	145
	Protecting the Amish	148
	Native Americans in the Court	151
	The Religious Freedom Restoration Act	153
	Conclusion	158
	Notes	159
	References	159
5	Key People, Cases, and Events	163
6	Documents	197
	Virginia Rules on Conduct and Religion (1619)	197
	Roger Williams, The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution (1644)	200
	Excerpts from Revolutionary-Era State Constitutions (1776-1784)	203
	James Madison, "Memorial and Remonstrance" (1785)	212
	Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)	220
	Northwest Ordinance (1787)	223
	Argument of Counsel in Defense of Seal of Confession (1813)	224
	Thomas Kennedy Seeking Equal Rights for Jews in Maryland (1818)	227
	Joseph Story, "The Religion Clauses of the First Amendment" (1833)	229
	John Tyler on the Know-Nothings (1854)	233
	Reynolds v. United States (1879)	234
	Alfred E. Smith on Catholicism and Patriotism (1927)	241
	Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)	245
	West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)	253
	Everson v. Board of Education (1947)	263
	Zorach v. Clauson (1952)	266
	John F. Kennedy on Church and State (1960)	271
	Engel v. Vitale (1962)	276
	Sherbert v. Verner (1963)	282
	Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)	291
	Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)	295
	Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)	301
	Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)	312
	Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)	316
	Employment Division, Oregon Department of Human Resources v. Smith (1990)	324
	Lee v. Weisman (1992)	330
	Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993)	340
	Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (1995)	343
	City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)	354
	Agostini v. Felton (1997)	359
	Chronology	371
	Table of Cases	373
	Annotated Bibliography	377
	Index	391
	About the Author	411

Editorial Reviews

A useful review of religious freedom for general readers and lower-division undergraduates.” —Choice

“[T]houghtful and well-written account . . . explores the origins and traces the development of America's religious liberty, the underlying principle of the policy of church and state separation . . . Given the timeliness of this subject, as well as the ongoing need to be ever-vigilant about matters of church and state, this work would be a valuable addition to high school and college libraries.” —American Reference Books Annual

From the Publisher

Urofsky (public policy and history, Virginia Commonwealth U.-Richmond) offers a reference to high school and undergraduate students who are beginning research into debates about religious freedom in the US. After describing the origins and development of the concept and the establishment and free-exercise clauses of the Constitution, he provides a list of key people, cases, and events; the texts of relevant documents; a chronology; a table of cases; and an annotated bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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