'Introduction,' to No Establishment of Religion: America’s Original Contribution to Religious Liberty
"Introduction,” to T. Jeremy Gunn and John Witte, Jr., eds., No Establishment of Religion: America’s Original Contribution to Religious Liberty (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 3-14.
12 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2019
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
This Chapter introduces a new book-length study of the genesis and genius of the America’s constitutional commitment to granting religious freedom to all and religious establishments to none. The study analyzes the prescient movements for disestablishment in the colonies and the new states and the revolutionary new guarantees of religious freedom built into the First Amendment. It also shows how the ongoing battles over education, immigration, polygamy, funding, exemptions, and more have made the original and evolving understanding of the First Amendment disestablishment guarantee a source of perennial cultural and constitutional contest.
Keywords: First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Establishment of Religion, Religious Freedom, Separation of Church and State, Religion and Politics, American Colonies, American States, United States Constitution
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