Wrestling With God

"Courts have often treated the two religion clauses of the First Amendment as contradictory, with the free exercise clause used to protect religious practices and the establishment clause employed to limit the public expression of religious beliefs. Wrestling with God not only reconciles the relationship between the two clauses but also distinguishes them in terms of their respective purposes. Whereas the exercise clause focuses on individual religious freedom, the establishment clause addresses the institutional autonomy of religious organizations. Under this distinction, many cases currently falling under the establishment clause - e.g., prayer in the schools - should instead be governed by the exercise clause.". "Unlike many contemporary interpretations of the establishment clause, the model offered in Wrestling with God views the clause not as a check on religion but as a protection against a specific kind of religious coercion - the kind that results from governmental interference with the freedom of religious institutions. As Patrick M. Garry argues in Wrestling with God, the establishment clause does not exist for the benefit of a secular society; it exists for those religious institutions in which individuals seek to practice their beliefs."--BOOK JACKET.

Year

2006

Language

English

Publisher

Catholic University of America Press

Editions

2

Pages

230

ISBN

9780813215150

Data source: Wikidata