Religion and the State in American Law

by Boris I. Bittker, Scott C. Idleman, Frank S. Ravitch

Overview

Religion and the State in American Law provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of religion and government in the United States, from historical origins to modern laws and rulings. In addition to extensive coverage of the religion clauses of the First Amendment, it addresses many statutory, regulatory, and common-law developments at both the federal and state levels. Topics include the history of church-state relations and religious liberty, religion in the classroom, and expressions of religion in government. This book also covers the role of religion in specific areas of law such as contracts, taxation, employment, land use regulation, torts, criminal law, and domestic relations as well as in specialized contexts such as prisons and the military. Accessible to the general as well as the professional reader, this book will be of use to scholars, judges, practicing lawyers, and the media.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107071827
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Pages:	986
Product dimensions:	7.28(w) x 10.31(h) x 1.57(d)

About the Author

Boris Bittker (1916–2005) was a professor at the Yale Law School for over five decades. The leading tax scholar of his era, he helped pioneer the study of federal tax law as a serious academic discipline. Updated versions of his casebooks, including the groundbreaking Estate and Gift Taxation (1951), are still in use today.

Scott C. Idleman is Professor of Law at Marquette University Law School. He has written articles on constitutional law, law and religion, federal courts, and military law in the nation's top journals, including the Cornell Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Frank S. Ravitch is Professor of Law and Walter H. Stowers Chair in Law and Religion at Michigan State University College of Law. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles on law and religion, civil rights, and constitutional law, and frequently serves as an expert in the media on the same topics. His most recent book is Marketing Creation: The Law and Intelligent Design (2011).

Table of Contents

1. Religion and the constitution: history, text, and context; 2. Church and state in the nineteenth century; 3. Religious influences and expressions in law and government; 4. The establishment clause; 5. The free exercise clause; 6. The religious rest, equal protection, and free speech clauses; 7. The definition of religion; 8. Church property disputes and church schisms; 9. Contracts; 10. Taxation; 11. Employment; 12. Land use; 13. Torts; 14. Criminal law and process; 15. Family law; 16. Public education; 17. Religious symbolism on public property; 18. Special contexts: prisons and the military; Appendices.