The author writes about all the church/state issues since the beginning of our country as well as the issues confronting us today and how to deal with them.

One such early story regarded how many jurisdictions would have a church tax. The government would collect taxes and then give to the denomination of the taxpayer’s choice. It was believed churches would die if they did not received tax money and it was further believed churches were important to society as they were the only institution providing moral authority, which guided civilization.

There was also some discussion in the early days that the Constitutional Amendment on freedom of religion only applied to the federal government and no necessarily to state governments.

Many religious people today talk about the Christian foundation upon which this country was formed, yet Feldman makes mention of the fact Jefferson rejected the issue of a personal God. Madison did not feel the government should pay salaries for government chaplains. Mail service was delivered on Sundays up until 1912.

The religious right seems to have been around (albeit in a different name) since the beginning. There was an attempt in the mid l800’s to have a Constitutional Amendment, which would recognize the Christian God and the Bible as the foundation for this country. Fortunately and obviously it did not pass.

I had always wanted to know the exact story of how the Mormons left the issue of bigamy and why the U. S. Court made any ruling on the issue. As you probably know, the Mormons went cross-country escaping states, which would not allow them to practice this part of their religion. They decided to settle in a territory of Utah, which had no prohibition for this practice. Then the Congress passed a law saying bigamy would be outlawed in the territories. The Mormons took the issue to court. The Supreme Court ruled though this was an infringement upon their religious right, they felt that allowing this practice would create a domino affect on other religious practices. What if a religion wanted to burn people at the stake, for instance? When the Supreme Court ruled against them, their leader had a new revelation saying that bigamy would no longer be allowed as an official church practice.

Another interesting story was when local jurisdictions started to mandate children saying the Pledge of Allegiance, many Jehovah Witnesses protested. They took their case to the Supreme Court and lost. Then as FDR started appointing new people to the Court, the JW’s decided to try again and the Court reversed itself.

He also talks about current day issues and the conflict between the religious right and people on the other side. He fears a real battle ahead unless both sides can find common ground.

He talks about the issue of Christmas. He feels it is a cultural activity for the vast majority of US citizens, therefore people who don’t celebrate Christmas should “just get used to it”. I would say there is a difference between public and private sector. The private sector can do whatever it wants, but the public sector should not celebrate any religious holiday. (I am such a strong advocate for church separation to think that government offices should be open on Dec 25).

He talks about “under God” issue in the Pledge. He mentions the JW issue of not wanting to say the Pledge. Their argument was not that everyone should refrain only they should be allowed to. He feels that should be the compromise for those who do not want the word God in the Pledge.

He feels the same as I do that there is a different between church and state, which must always be separate and religion and politics, which cannot be separated. Religious people (on both right and left) have a constitutional right and a religious mandate to try to change laws as they feel is best.

The author is a former clerk for the U. S. Supreme Court and now law professor. The book sometimes is written for attorneys and therefore at times difficult for a layperson like me to gasp all the aspects of his writing. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating book to read.