Religion and the Constitution, Volume 2: Establishment and Fairness

Balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers, particularly when religious groups seek exemption from laws that govern others. Should students in public schools be allowed to organize devotional Bible readings and prayers on school property? Does reciting "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance establish a preferred religion? What does the Constitution have to say about displays of religious symbols and messages on public property? Religion and the Constitution presents a new framework for addressing these and other controversial questions that involve competing demands of fairness, liberty, and constitutional validity. In this second of two major volumes on the intersection of constitutional and religious issues in the United States, Kent Greenawalt focuses on the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which forbids government from favoring one religion over another, or religion over secularism. The author begins with a history of the clause, its underlying principles, and the Supreme Court's main decisions on establishment, and proceeds to consider specific controversies. Taking a contextual approach, Greenawalt argues that the state's treatment of religion cannot be reduced to a single formula. Calling throughout for acknowledgment of the way religion gives meaning to people's lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare.

Preface ix CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2: History 18 CHAPTER 3: The Development of Doctrine and Its Significance 40 CHAPTER 4: Government Aid to Religion and Promulgating Religious Doctrine 53 CHAPTER 5: Religious Words and Symbols in Public Places 69 CHAPTER 6: Mild Endorsements and Promotions 91 CHAPTER 7: Public Schools: Devotions 103 CHAPTER 8: Public Schools: Teaching about Religion 122 CHAPTER 9: Public Schools: Teaching Whose Content Rests on Religious Views 136 CHAPTER 10: Establishment Clause Tests and Standards 157 CHAPTER 11: Equal Facilities and Freedom of Speech 194 CHAPTER 12: Chaplains in the Military and in Prison 207 CHAPTER 13: Religious Groups Exercising Government Power 221 CHAPTER 14: Religious Law and Civil Law: Using Secular Law to Assure Observance of Practices with Religious Significance 240 CHAPTER 15: Tax Exemptions and Deductions 279 CHAPTER 16: Religion and the Exemption Strategy 298 CHAPTER 17: Limits of Accommodation 336 CHAPTER 18: Financial Support to Religious Institutions 352 CHAPTER 19: Aid to Religious Schools 385 CHAPTER 20: Religion Clause Skepticism 433 CHAPTER 21: Alternative Approaches 451 CHAPTER 22: Justifications for the Religion Clauses 480 CHAPTER 23: Religiously Based Judgments and Religious Discourse in Public Life 497 CHAPTER 24: Legal Enforcement of Religion-Based Morality 525 CHAPTER 25: Conclusion 538 Index 545