DOCUMENT RESUME ED 278 595 SO 017 879 AUTHOR Semonche, John E., Ed. TITLE Religion and Law in American History. Church,State and the First Amendment: A North Carolina Dialogue. INSTITUTION North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill. SPONS AGENCY National Endowment for the Humanities (NFAH), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 85 NOTE 135p.; Prepared under the auspices of theProgram in the Humanities and Human Values. For related documents, see SO 017 880-881. PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Churches; *Civil Liberties; Civil Rights; *Constitutional History; Government Role; *Religion; *Religious Differences; Religious Factors;State Church Separation; *lin,ted States History ABSTRACT This two-part anthology contains a series of background readings on church-state issues designed to provide primary materials through which North Carolinianscan better understand the religion clauses of the First Amendment.Part 1 gives historical and philosophical background in fourchapters: (1) "God's Country: Perception or Presumption?"; (2) "Near the Beginning:Should God's Realm Be Separated from Man's?"; (3) "The Rights _)fMan and Other Bases for Religious Liberty: A Practical Accommodationor a Moral Imperative?"; and (4) "The Constitutional Foundation:What Did the Religious Clauses Mean?" Part 2 describes the legalexperience in four chapters numbered sequentially from part 1:(5) "The Basic Cases: What Limits Do the Religion Clauses Place Upon the States?"; (6) "Free Exercise of Religion: How Much Room ShouldGovernment Allow?"; (7) "School Prayer and Financial Assistance:What Tends To Establish Religion?"; and (8) "Historical Exceptions:Does Custom Equal Constitutionality?" Each chapter contains readingsand questions for discussion. A list of suggestions foradditional reading is included. (KWL) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRSare the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** ion (dind in Americ(el istory U.S. DEPARTMENT OR EDUCATION edited by Office or Educational Research and Improvern ivED y CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATI CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced received from the Person or organizal John E. Semonche originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to impt reproduction quality Points of view or opinions slated Int/110c ment do not necessarily represent otti OERi position or policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE TI- MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED I 03 5_ JDI TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCI INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." 0 CHURCH, STATE and the FIRST AMENDMENT: A North Carolina Dialogue BEST COPY AVAILABLE Sponsored by: The Program in the Humanities and Human Values of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under a grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities Religion and Law in American History edited by John E. Semonce Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to peti- tion the government for a redress of grievances. Major funding for CHURCH, STATE AND THE FRST AMENDMENT A NORTH CAROLINA DIALOGUE has been provided under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Copyright (c) 1985 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Manufactured in the United States of America CHURCH, STATE AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT: A NORTH CAROLINA DIALOGUE Volume I: Religion and Government in Other Countries Edited by James C. Livingston Professor Livingston teaches in the Department of Religion at the College of William and Mary. The authoi of Modem Chris- tian Thought: From the Enlightenment to Vatican II, he recently edited an anthology entitled Religious Thought in the enth Century. In Religion and Government in Other Countries, Professor Livingston presents readings on the role of religion in other societies: the Islamic Republic of Iran, England, France, Germany, the USSR, and Israel. This anthology provides foreign models against which we can judge the strengths and the weaknesses of our own constitutional arrangements. Volume II: Religion and Law in American History Edited by John E. Semonche Professor Semonche, a lawyer and historian, teaches American constitutional and legal history in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of Charting the Future: The Supreme Court Respondsto a Changing Society, 1890-1920 and Ray Stannard Baker: A Quest for Democracy in Modern America, 1870-191B. In Part I of this anthology, Pto- fessor Semonche presents selections which address the historical and philosophical background of the religion clauses. In Part II he presents selections from the major court opinions on the relationship of religion and government. Volume IIL Church, State and American Cu/ture Edited by Giles Gunn Professor Gunn is a member of the Department of Religious Studies and the Curriculum hi American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The author of a number of studies Oil religion and literature, Professor Gunn recently edited New World Metaphysics and The Bible and American Arts and Letters. He is also the author of The Interpretation of Otherness. In Church, State and American Cu/tun:, he presents madings on the tensions between Amffica's strong religious heritage and the secularism of her fundamental law. Volume IV: Church, State and :dducation Edited by Waldo Beach Professor Beach teaches in the Divinity School of Duke University. Among his publications are Christian Community and Ameri- can Society, The Wheel and the Cross: A Christian Re.sponse to the 'Technological Revolution, and The Christian L if6. In this anthology, he includes readings on the school prayer controversy, the creationism-evolution debate, the 'humanisrdin-the-schools dispute, and government regulation of religious schools. These anthologies are available for use in community programs sponsored by non-profit organizationsTo obtain copies, con- tact CHURCH, STATE AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT: A NORTH CAROLINA DIALOGUE, 209 Abernethy Nall, Univer- sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. North Carolina Dialogue Advisory Committee James 0. Abrahamson, Pastor John V. Orth, Associate Professor of Law Chapel Hill Bible Church University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill James Bond, Professor of Law J. Dickson Phillips, Jr., Judge Wake Forest University U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit David Bowman, Pastor Gerald J. Postema, Associate Professor of Philosophy First Presbyterian Church University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill Rocky Mount, NC Walter E Pratt, Jr., Associate Professor of Law Peter Fish, Professor of Political Science Duke University Duke University Prezell Robinson, President Edward G. Holley, Dean St. Augustine's College School of Library Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A. C. Snow, Editor The Raleigh Times Pamela S. Mayer, Superintendent Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System Arnold S. Task, Rabbi Temple Emanuel Warren A. N 3rd, Director Greensboro, NC Program in the Humanities and Human Values University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Grant Wacker, Assistant Professor of ReligiousStudies University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill Project Director Diane Sast;.-in Program in the Hurnmities and Human Values University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Preface Throughout the 1984 national election a debate raged over the proper relationship between church and state in this country. News magazines devoted cover stories to the topic. Talkshows featured prominent religious leaders, politicians, and civil libertarians who offered their opinions on issues ranging from school prayer to the nuclear freeze. In nationally televised debates President Ron- ald Reagan and former Vice President Walter Mondale confronted questions about their personal religious beliefs and how these beliefs might affect their decisions in public office. Concerned clergymen signed a statement warning of the da ngers of "Armageddon theology!' Emotions ran high and disagreements were sharp. Although the 1984 election is past, Americans corizinue to struggle with the proper role of religion in politics, education, and culture. Yet despite the quantity of discussion, the quality of the debate is often not of the caliber we would wish. Too often we talk past each other; too often we fail to listen to what others say. Because in a pluralistic society we Americans are divided by basic and frequently unnoticed assumptions about religion, the purposes of the state, and the principles of constitutional law, we frequently fail to recognize the underlying reasons for our disagreements. CHURCH, STATE AND THE FIRST .1.1v1ENDMENT: A NORTH CAROLINA DIALOGUE seeks to provide citizens of the state with opportunities to examine closely the meaning of the two religion clauses of the First Amendment. Through public forums and debates, community programs, study groups, and radio and television documentaries, this project encourages North Carolinians to place church-state issues into broader historical, religious and philosophical contexts, and to gain a wider perspective on the separation of church and state in America by comparing it with the relationship between religion and government in other countries. This anthology is one of four collections of background readings on church-state issues designed