Religion Clauses of the First Amendment (eBook)

Guarantees of States' Rights?

Ellis M. West (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2012
250 Seiten
Lexington Books (Verlag)
978-0-7391-4679-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Were the religion clauses of the First Amendment intended to protect individuals' right to religious freedom and equality or the states' traditional right to legislate on religion? This book examines all the arguments and historical evidence relating to this question, and demonstrates, contrary to the views of some scholars and Supreme Court justices, that the clauses were sought, drafted, and originally understood not as guarantees of states' rights but as normative restraints on the national government's power over religion.

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The First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution begins: "e;Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . ."e; The Supreme Court has consistently held that these words, usually called the "e;religion clauses,"e; were meant to prohibit laws that violate religious freedom or equality. In recent years, however, a growing number of constitutional law and history scholars have contended that the religion clauses were not intended to protect religious freedom, but to reserve the states' rights to legislate on. If the states' rights interpretation of the religion clauses were correct and came to be accepted by the Supreme Court, it could profoundly affect the way the Court decides church-state cases involving state laws. It would allow the states to legislate on religion-even to violate religious freedom, discriminate on the basis of religion, or to establish a particular religion. This book carefully, thoroughly, and critically examines all the arguments for such an interpretation and, more importantly, all the available historical evidence. It concludes that the clauses were meant to protect religious freedom and equality of the individuals not the states' rights

Autor

Ellis M. West is emeritus professor of political science at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

Inhalt

PrefaceIntroductionClarification of the IssueThe Origin of the "Substantive" Versus "Jurisdictional" TerminologyThe Problem with the Word "Substantive"The Problem with the Word "Jurisdictional"Must the Religion Clauses Be Either Normative or Federalist?The Different Federalist Interpretations of the ClausesA Critical Analysis of the Federalist InterpretationAn Overview of the ArgumentsAn Assessment of the Arguments' LogicThe Ratification Debate and Proposed Religion ClausesThe Significance of the DebateIssues: What Kind of Laws Pertaining to Religion Did Both Federalists and Anti-federalists Want to Prohibit, and Why?The Views of the FederalistsThe Views of the Anti-federalistsThe Drafting of the Religion ClausesThe Role and Views of James MadisonA Summary of What Happened in the First CongressThe Meaning of the Debate in the House on August 15Changes in the Wording of the ClausesThe Final Wording of the Establishment ClauseThe Relevance of Madison's Amendment to Protect Religious Liberty in the StatesSummaryWere the Framers Hopelessly Divided over Government and Religion?The Case for Lack of ConsensusAn Assessment of the Case for Lack of ConsensusThe Case for the Existence of ConsensusConclusionThe Early American Understanding of the Religion ClausesComments on the Clauses during Their RatificationInterpretations of the Clauses by the ClergyInterpretations of the Clauses by Other Public FiguresCommentaries on the ConstitutionThe Widespread Belief that the Bill of Rights Applied to the StatesJefferson and Madison's Interpretation of the ClausesConclusionThe Federalist Interpretation of the Religion Clauses: A Concluding Assessment

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.7.2012
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Öffentliches Recht ► Verfassungsrecht
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Rechtsgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft
• Schlagworte: American Government, Policy and Law • Constitution, Law and Civil Rights • Political Science • Religion • Religion in America • US Constitution
• ISBN-10: 0-7391-4679-3 / 0739146793
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-4679-8 / 9780739146798