Religion on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents (On Trial)

344 Pages·2003·1.16 MB·English

by  James Jurinski

Religion
ON TRIAL
Other books in ABC-CLIO’s On Trial Series
Charles L. Zelden, Series Editor
Constitutional Change on Trial, Richard Bernstein
Gay Rights on Trial, Lee Walzer
The Human Body on Trial, Lynne Curry
Medicine on Trial, Elisabeth A. Cawthon
Native American Sovereignty on Trial, Bryan Wildenthal
Pornography on Trial, Thomas Mackey
Racial Violence on Trial, Christopher Waldrep
Voting Rights on Trial, Charles L. Zelden
Waging War on Trial, Brian R. Dirck
Religion
ON TRIAL
A Handbook with
Cases, Laws, and Documents
James John Jurinski
Santa Barbara, California • Denver, Colorado • Oxford, England
Copyright © 2004 by James John Jurinski
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a re-
trieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations
in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jurinski, James.
Religion on trial : a handbook with cases, laws, and documents / James
John Jurinski.
p. cm. — (On trial series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-85109-491-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN1-85109-496-2 (e-book)
1. Church and state—United States. 2. Freedom of religion—United
States. 3. Church and state—United States—Cases. 4. Freedom of
religion—United States—Cases. I. Title. II. Series: On trial.
KF4865.J87 2003
342.7308'52—dc22 2003020750
08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ABC-CLIO, Inc.
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Manufactured in the United States of America
To my friend, Professor Vincent Carrafiello

Contents
Series Foreword ix
Preface xiii
PART ONE
1 Introduction 3
The First Amendment, 4
The Wall of Separation, 5
Areas of Legal Conflict, 7
The U.S. Legal System, 12
2 Historical Background 19
The Christian Church in Europe, 19
The Reformation, 22
The Colonial Experience, 26
The Constitution, 31
The Nineteenth Century, 33
Post–Civil War Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, 34
The Twentieth Century, 36
Social Issues, 42
Medical Issues, 43
Religion in Public Schools, 45
Teaching Evolution, 52
Equal Access, 54
Aid to Parochial and Religious Schools, 55
Entanglements, 59
Conclusion, 61
vii
viii Contents
3 Cases 63
Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 64
The Antievolution Statute Cases, 69
Lynch v. Donnelly, 79
Engel v. Vitale (The “Regents School Prayer Case”), 83
Application of the President and Directors of
Georgetown College, 88
Employment Division v. Smith, 94
4 Legacy and Impact 99
The Pledge Cases, 100
The Antievolution Statute Cases, 106
Lynch v. Donnelly, 109
Schools and Religion, 111
Application of the President and Directors of
Georgetown College, 130
Norwood Hospital v. Munoz, 131
Employment Division v. Smith, 137
PART TWO
Documents 145
Court Cases, 145
Historical Documents, 196
Proposed Constitutional Amendments, 215
Key People, Laws, and Concepts 219
Chronology 259
Table of Cases 291
Appendix: Supreme Court Justices since 1900 295
Annotated Bibliography 297
Index 311
Series Foreword
The volumes in the On Trial series explore the many ways in which
the U.S. legal and political system has approached a wide range of
complex and divisive legal issues over time—and in the process de-
fined the current state of the law and politics on these issues. The in-
tent is to give students and other general readers a framework for un-
derstanding how the law in all its various forms—constitutional,
statutory, judicial, political, and customary—has shaped and re-
shaped the world in which we live today.
At the core of each volume in the series is a common proposition:
that in certain key areas of American public life, we as a people and a
nation are “on trial” as we struggle to cope with the contradictions,
conflicts, and disparities within our society, politics, and culture.
Who should decide if and when a woman can have an abortion?
What rights, if any, should those with a different sexual orientation
be able to claim under the Constitution? Is voting a basic right of
citizenship, and if so, under what rules should we organize this
right—especially when the application of any organizing rules
inevitably results in excluding some citizens from the polls? And
what about the many inconsistencies and conflicts associated with
racial tensions in the country? These are just some of the complex
and controversial issues that we as a people and a nation are
struggling to answer—and must answer if we are to achieve an
orderly and stable society. For the answers we find to these disputes
shape the essence of who we are—as a people, community, and
political system.
The concept of being “on trial” also has a second meaning
fundamental to this series: the process of litigating important issues
in a court of law. Litigation is an essential part of how we settle our
ix