Product Description

Is the separation of church and state a myth?

Was the United States founded as a "Christian nation"?

Religious Right organizations have launched a systematic propaganda war against the separation of church and state. Their aim is to convince the American public that church-state separation was never intended by our Founding Fathers and that the United States was founded as a Christian nation.

In this new, expanded edition, journalist Robert Boston challenges the zealots of the Religious Right and debunks their claims about church-state separation. Tracing the development of the church-state relations from the Middle Ages to the modern era, Boston shows how the principle protects religion and explains why America's founders were such ardent advocates of the idea.

Completely revised and updated, this second edition is packed with information to help activists defend church-state separation. It reviews the evolution of separation of church and state in the United States and explains, in simple and straightforward language, what the Supreme Court has really said about issues like religion in public schools, tax aid to religious institutions, and the limits of religious freedom. Boston concludes by giving readers clear strategies to defend church-state separation from Religious Right attacks.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #844208 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 281 pages

Review
"...very useful overview for students and those seeking introduction to an issue that is not likely to go away." -- Conscience, Winter 2003-4

From the Publisher
"This well-written book by an experienced journalist and student of church-state relations aggressively challenges the assertions of the Religious Right and shows most of them to be distortions, half-truths, and outright lies. . . . It should be in every school district's curriculum library." -- Contemporary Education

"Sketches out a strong, clear set of debating points for use by those seeking to keep government from meddling in religion and vice versa. . . . [I]t should make a handy and useful guide." -- San Francisco Bay Area Guardian

About the Author
Robert Boston has served as assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the assistant editor of AU's "Church & State" magazine since 1987. He is also the author of THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA?: PAT ROBERTSON AND THE RISE OF THE CHRISTIAN COALITION and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT: JOURNEYS INTO THE TWILIGHT ZONE OF RELIGION AND POLITICS.

Customer Reviews

Somewhat biased but excellent overall
In this work, Rob Boston gives a good in-depth analysis of the church state separation issue. He provides an excellent historical background including a detailed description of the drafting of the U.S. Constitution's first amendment. Prior drafts of the amendment provide very interesting reading. He correctly examines the effect of the 14th amendment that extended the Bill of Rights to the states and the fact that it was legal for states to set up religion up to that point.

Crucial Supreme Court cases are covered in detail providing excellent examinations of the opinions they generated. He points out that church state separation was virtually ignored during the 19th century and exploded as an issue when immigration during the 20th century brought a number of new religions to the country that the people had never previously encountered.

Mr. Boston does not hide his disdain for the Religious Right and it becomes very obvious in some of his statements, but he illuminates some of the dangers this small but very influential group pose. He exposes the desires of some extreme fringes to convert America into a Christian theocracy.

All in all this is a great work with thorough documentation of sources that allow a reader to research further into the issue. Mr. Boston also provides a number of historical documents in whole or in part to illustrate the mindset of the founding fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Thank God for Some Common Sense FINALLY!
Boston does an excellent job of defending a principle that too many Americans have been lied to about for too long. With an overview of church-state history, legal issues, and a well-reasoned attack on the Religious Wrong, Boston's book is a breath of fresh air in the polluted skies of sectarianism. A quick note, one of the reviewers of this book noted that "separation of church and state is not written in the Constitution." Ignoring the poor grammar he used, he obviously didn't read the book. That point, and it is a valid one, is discussed by Mr. Boston. It is unfortunate in our time that people who have never had a taste of oppression, never a glimpse of tyranny, seek to run for cover under state-imposed orthodoxy. Keep the church and state forever separate in every way. I know what I'm talking about, my family grew up in Iran!

Good general overview, a few small inaccuracies... 4+ stars
I found it to be a good start on the subject. Some of the dates were incorrect (typos, I'm pretty sure) and there were a few small but largely unimportant inaccuracies, such as the role of the NY State Supreme Court. In NY the final word is handed down by the Appellate Court (a somewhat understandable mistake-common sense dictates otherwise). For someone starting out with an admitted bias he does a presentable job in covering the other side of the issue, although the bias does show through. I've personally found the religious right to be much less forthcoming with opposing facts that refute their arguments.