4th Edition

Church and State in American History Key Documents, Decisions, and Commentary from Five Centuries

By John Wilson, Donald Drakeman Copyright 2020
    568 Pages
    by Routledge

    568 Pages
    by Routledge

    Church and State in American History illuminates the complex relationships among the political and religious authority structures of American society, and illustrates why church-state issues have remained controversial since our nation’s founding. It has been in classroom use for over 50 years.

    John Wilson and Donald Drakeman explore the notion of America as “One Nation Under God” by examining the ongoing debate over the relationship of church and state in the United States. Prayers and religious symbols in schools and other public spaces, school vouchers and tax support for faith-based social initiatives continue to be controversial, as are arguments among advocates of pro-choice and pro-life positions. The updated 4th edition includes selections from colonial charters, Supreme Court decisions, and federal legislation, along with contemporary commentary and incisive interpretations by modern scholars. Figures as divergent as John Winthrop, Anne Hutchinson, James Madison, John F. Kennedy, and Sandra Day O’Connor speak from these pages, as do Robert Bellah, Clarence Thomas, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

    The continuing public and scholarly interest in this field, as well as a significant evolution in the Supreme Court’s church-state jurisprudence, renders this timely re-edition as essential reading for students of law, American History, Religion, and Politics.

    Preface

    Introduction

    1 The Language of Colonial Establishments (-1700)

    Introduction

    John Cotton, A Discourse About Civil Government

    Roger Williams, Queries of Highest Consideration (1644)

    Anne Hutchinson, The Examination

    of Anne Hutchinson (1637)

    Articles, Lawes, and Orders, Divine, Politic,

    and Martiall for the Colony in Virginia (1610-1611)

    Preface to the Fundamental Orders of

    Connecticut (1638-1639)

    An Act Concerning Religion in the

    Maryland Colony (1649)

    The Charter of Rhode Island and

    Providence Plantations (1663)

    Preface to the Frame of Government of Pennsylvania

    The Fundamental Constitutions of

    Carolina (1669-1698)

      1. Leon Higginbotham, Sr., Race and the American

    Legal Process: The Colonial Period

    1. Ethnic Diversity and Evangelical Differentiation (1700-1760)
    2. Introduction

      The Connecticut Establishment

      And Provision for Dissent (1708)

      The Confession of Faith of the

      Christians Called Mennonites

      Grievances Against the

      Connecticut Establishment (1751)

      Samuel Davies on Behalf of

      Dissenters in Virginia (1752)

      Edwin S. Gaustad, Institutional

      Effects of the Great Awakening

    3. The Struggle for Independence and the Terms of Settlement

    (1760-1820)

    The Threat of an Anglican Establishment

    Thomas Bradbury Chandler, Chandler’s Appeal

    on Behalf of Anglicans in America

    Colonial Criticism of the Appeal (1768)

    Church-State Issues in the States

    Articles II and III of the Massachusetts Constitution [1780]

    Justice Theophilus Parsons’ opinion

    in Barnes v. Falmouth (1810)

    James Madison, Madison’s

    Memorial and Remonstrance (1785)

    Jefferson’s Act for Establishing

    Religious Freedom (1786)

    A Petition Relating to Church Establishment (1786)

    Monica Najar, Baptist Churches and the Construction of Civil Order

    Church, State and the Constitution

    House and Senate Debates concerning the

    First Amendment (1789)

    Occasional Documents Regarding Religion and Government

    Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists (1802)

    Jefferson on the Question of Fast Days (1808)

    Robert T. Handy, The Magna Carta of

    Religious Freedom in America

     

    4 The Era of Republican Protestantism (1820-1860)

    Introduction

    Joseph Story on the Religion

    Clauses of the Bill of Rights (1833)

    Jasper Adams’ Sermon on the Relation of Christianity to Civil

    Government (1833)

    Madison’s letter in response to Adams’ Sermon

    Lyman Beecher on Disestablishment

    in Connecticut (1820)

    Abner Kneeland, Blasphemy on Trial (1838)

    Ezra Stiles Ely, A Christian

    Party in Politics (1827)

    Lyman Beecher, Beecher’s

    Strategy for the West (1835)

    Richard M. Johnson, A Jacksonian

    Criticism of the Protestant Phalanx (1829)

    William Ellery Channing, A Religious

    Liberal’s Criticism of the Protestant Strategy (1829)

    Calvin Colton, Colton on the True

    Character of the Evangelical Enterprise (1836)

    Vincent Harding, The Black Struggle

    for Freedom in America

    James F. Maclear, The True American

    Union of Church and State

    5 The Recognition of American Pluralism (1860-1920)

    The Public Schools as Divisive

    Judge Storer, The Bible in the Common Schools

    Judge Welch, The Bible in The Public Schools

    Samuel T. Spear, Religion and The State (1876)

    "Americanism," Protestant and Catholic

    Washington Gladden, The Anti-Catholic Crusade

    Josiah Strong, America the Embodiment of

    Christian Anglo-Saxon Civilization

    E.B. Brady, An American

    Catholic on Church and State

    John Ireland, D.D., Catholicism and Americanism

    Robert D. Cross, Catholicism and a Non-Catholic State

    American Governments and Religious Institutions

    Philip Schaff, The American Theory and System

    James Bryce, The Churches and the Clergy

    T.M. Cooley, Constitutional Limitations

    Regarding Religious Liberty

    The Constitution and Religious Liberty

    Reynolds v. United States (1879)

    Davis v. Beason (1890)

    6 Mainstream Pluralism (1920-1960)

    Church and State in Religious Perspectives

    John A. Ryan, Comments on the

    "Christian Constitution of States"

    John Courtney Murray, S.J., Civil

    Unity and Religious Integrity

    John Coleman Bennett, Patterns of

    Church-State Relations – Grounds for Separation

    Richard L. Rubenstein, Church and

    And State: The Jewish Posture

    Church and State as a Political Issue

    Catholic and Patriot: Governor Smith Replies

    Paul Blanshard, The Catholic Plan for America

    John F. Kennedy, Remarks on Church and State

    Church and State as a Juridical Problem

    Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)

    Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)

    West Virginia State Board of

    Education v. Barnette (1943)

    Everson v. Board of Education (1947)

    Illinois ex rel. McCollum v.

    Board of Education (1948)

    Zorach v. Clauson (1952)

    Mark DeWolfe Howe, The Constitutional Question

     

    7 Dimensions of Increasing Pluralism (1960- ): Church-State Issues

    Religion and Public Education

    Engel v. Vitale (1962)

    School District of Abington

    Township v. Schempp (1963)

    Stone v. Graham (1980)

    Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)

    School Prayer Amendment

    Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)

    Lee v. Weisman (1992)

    Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches (1993)

    Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995)

    Santa Fe Independent School

    District v. Doe (2000)

    Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001)

    Locke v. Davey (2004)

    Aid to Religious Schools

    John Courtney Murray, S.J. Remarks

    on Aid to Parochial Schools

    Edd Doerr, The People Speak:

    Parochial and the Voters

    A.E. Dick Howard, Up Against the Wall:

    The Uneasy Separation of Church and State

    Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

    Mueller v. Allen (1983)

    Witters v. Washington Department

    of Services for the Blind (1986)

    Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills

    School District (1993)

    Kiryas Joel Village School

    District v. Grumet (1994)

    Agostini v. Felton (1997)

    Mitchell v. Helmes (2008)

    Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

    Religion and Governmental Activity

    McGowan v. Maryland (1961)

    Marsh v. Chambers (1983)

    Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)

    County of Allegheney v. ACLU (1989)

    Capital Square v. Pinette (1995)

    McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005)

    Van Orden v. Perry (2005)

    Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)

    Trump v. Hawaii (2018)

     

    8 Dimensions of Inclusive Pluralism (1960- ): Religious Liberty Issues

    The Scope of Religious Liberty

    Torcaso v. Watkins (1961)

    Sherbert v. Verner (1963)

    State of Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

    McDaniel v. Paty (1978)

    Thomas v. Review Board (1981)

    United States v. Lee (1982)

    Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)

    Bowen v. Roy (1986)

    Lyng v. Northwest Indian

    Cemetery Protective Association (1988)

    Frazee v. Illinois Department of

    Employment Security (1989)

    Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

    Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993)

    Church of Lukumi v. Hialeah (1993)

    Boerne v. Flores (1997)

    Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente

    União do Vegetal (2006)

    Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2010)

    Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014)

    Holt v. Hobbs (2015)

    Trinity Lutheran Church of

    Columbia, Inc. v. Comer (2017)

    Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado

    Civil Rights Commission (2018)

    Government Regulation of Religious Organizations

    Walz v. Tax Commission (1970)

    Larson v. Valente (1982)

    Bob Jones University v. United

    States (1983)

    Corporation of the Presiding Bishop v. Amos (1987)

    Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School

    v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012)

    Religion and Politics

    National Conference of Catholic

    Bishops on Religion and Politics

    National Council of Churches on Religion and Politics

    National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council on Religion

    and Politics

    Anna Greenberg, The Church and the

    Revitalization of Politics and Community

    Marvin McMickle, Black Preacher/Politicians

    God and Country: Cultural

    Issues

    Robert N. Bellah, Civil Religion in America

    John F. Wilson, The Civil Religion Proposal as a

    Revitalization Movement in American Culture

    Chronology

    Suggestions for Further Reading

    Index

    Biography

    John F. Wilson is Collord Professor of Religion, Emeritus at Princeton University, where he directed the Project on Church and State. He is the author of Religion and the American Nation and Public Religion in American Culture, and served as general editor of Church and State in America: A Bibliographical Guide.

    Donald L. Drakeman is Distinguished Research Professor in the Program on Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and a Fellow of the Centre for Health Leadership at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Church, State and Original Intent and ChurchState Constitutional Issues.

    As a reader on church–state questions in American history, the Wilson and Drakeman volume is a classic. With an expansive vision of how the spiritual and temporal realms have been variously conceived in Western Christianity, the editors bring a panoramic perspective to the American story. That broader intellectual scaffolding makes their coverage of specific church-state conflicts particularly substantial and illuminating. Theirs is a stellar introduction to the complex interactions of religion, politics, and law in American life. 

    Leigh E. Schmidt, Edward C. Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities at Washington University, St. Louis

    This is an outstanding collection, combining cogently selected and arranged historical materials with insightful and engaging overall and chapter introductions. An invaluable resource for scholars, teachers, students, and anyone interested in the fascinating topic of church and state in the American context.

    Steven Smith, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego

    Church and State in American History, 4th ed., edited by two astute scholars of religion in American public life, is an invaluable guide and resource for those seeking to understand the troubled relations between religion and the civil state in American history, from the earliest colonial settlements to the present. Drawing from theological, political, and legal sources, it introduces readers to key controversies, arguments, and documents that have shaped church–state debate in America. This volume, with its prudently selected and edited documents and insightful commentary, is highly recommended for both classroom and reference use.

    Daniel L. Dreisbach, American University

    This book stands apart from the numerous narrative histories on church and state due to its thoughtful selection of primary and secondary sources, its historical approach, and its chronological comprehensiveness. There is no better reader out there for investigating the history of church and state in the American experience.

    J. David Holcomb, Professor of History and Political Science at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor