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Thursday, November 4, 2010
Church, State, and Original Intent, by Donald L. Drakeman
This is a good book. It describes the evolution of Church-State constitutional doctrine including the debates (or lack of them) during the ratification of the Constitution. He finds that the "Wall of Separation" theory was not intended by the founders. Rather, the founders had a very accommodationist view. The Establishment Clause was just that; a prohibition on the government establishing a national church much like the United Kingdom had at the time. On the flip side, it prohibited the federal government from interfering with the free exercise of religion. How we got to the place we are in today where the federal government every day interferes with the exercise of religion in prohibiting school prayer, religious displays, and even memorial crosses is the story of this book. It is a dense read and heavily footnoted. The author did his homework. For anyone interested in Church-State relations, this book is a must read.
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