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Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (Critical America) |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Thomas Jefferson > Item 57
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Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (Critical America)
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by Daniel Dreisbach
Sales Rank: 549046
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$12.00
At Amazon
on 6-16-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 294 pages
Published by: NYU Press October 1, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0814719368
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0814719367
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 14.4 ounces
Library Journal, July 2002
This well-constructed book will be useful for academic libraries as an addition to their history and law collections
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
"Excellent introduction to the thorny interpretive issues that continue to grow around Jefferson's wall."-The Journal of Southern History
” On an evaluative note, the book is helpful for gaining an understanding of the historical context of Jefforson’s metaphor.”
-Journal of Church and State
"In the opinion of this reviewer, Dreisbach is undeniably correct. His research is thorough, and his analysis comports with the history of the period. Dreisbach's study of Jefferson's likely meaning when he utilized the phrase "wall of separation" makes a valuable contribution to an important area of the constitutional law, an area of great consequence to Christians. The fact that it is written by a law professor at a "top twenty" law school increases its significance and credibility in the scholar world. The book has a minimum of legal jargon and can easily be understood. Daniel Dreisbach's book is highly recommended."-Faith and Mission
"Daniel Dreisbach's book is a welcome and much needed addition to the scholarship on the First Amendment. Dreisbach analysis of Jefferson's metaphor, its political context, and consequences for church-state jurisprudence, provide an intellectual perspective as the Court and nation reconsider issues of accomodations of religion in the public square."-Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
"The book plausibly argues that scholars have seen too secular a Jefferson."
- Perspectives on Political Science
"Dreisbach's new book makes an important contribution to church-state scholarship by elaborating both the circumstances surrounding Jefferson's original use of this metaphor and its introduction into modern constitutional discourse."
-The Virginia Magazine
"This is an excellent, eloquent book about a metaphor on the uses and pitfalls of metaphors in legal discourse, and on the meaning of the very brief words in the First Amendment."
-Catholic Historical Review
"Dreisbach argues convincingly that federalism constituted a key aspect of Jefferson's reply to the Danbury Baptists."
-Journal of the Early Republic
" Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation is the product of Dreisbach's solid, extensive research, much of it hidden away in valuable notes. He writes in a direct, clear style, with hints of humor."
- The Review of Politics
"[A] vigorous critique of separationist dogmas"
-Christianity Today
"Both the sources themselves, and the extensive notes on the secondary literature make the book a 'must read' for anyone interested in the continued impact of Jefferson's metaphor upon the constitutional and legal interpretations of religion and its role in the contemporary United Sates."
-Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"Scholars recently have taken a new look at the historical foundations of the Establishment Clause. . . . Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State is a valuable contribution to that debate."
-Harvard Journal of Law &Public Policy
"Dreisbach offers an in-depth study into what Jefferson meant by the 'wall of separation between church and state' and claims that the extent of the wall was to prohibit Congress from establishing a national state church."
-Conscience
"Dreisbach looks at the letter and its historical context and concludes that Jefferson might not agree with the restrictive way the courts today have interpreted his phrase."
-Houston Chronicle
"Now we know when secularists refer to Jefferson's "wall," they're speaking from ignorance. In short, they are advocating Black's wall
-a wall of imprisonment and censorship, not Jefferson's, which was a wall of protection."
-Citizen
"Excellent . . . Dreisbach makes a persuasive case."
-Catalyst
"Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy"
-American Vision
"Daniel L. Driesbach's Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and Stateprovides important historical analysis."
-World
"Daniel Dreisbach, a professor at American University, has now written a valuable history of the "wall of separation" metaphor[a] superb book."
-Claremont Review of Books
"[This] book clearly explains that the purpose of the First Amendment's "establishment" clause was to leave the individual states free to decide for themselves how to integrate religion with government."
-Chronicles
"Dreisbach offers a fascinating and thorough account of Jefferson's understanding of the metaphorand has provided the legal community with a valuable service in bringing together the documentary evidence for Jefferson's understanding of the "wall of separation," along with careful and transparent commentary on what the evidence means."
-The Law and Politics Book Review
No phrase in American letters has had a more profound influence on church-state law, policy, and discourse than Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state," and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced in an 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, Jefferson's "wall" is accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution's church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law.
Despite the enormous influence of the "wall" metaphor, almost no scholarship has investigated the text of the Danbury letter, the context in which it was written, or Jefferson's understanding of his famous phrase. Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy.
Reader Reviews
Daniel L. Dreisbach, Professor in the Department of Justice, Law, and Society at American University, provides an in-depth historical analysis of Jefferson's letter of 1 January 1802 to the Danbury Baptist Association and how a singular phrase in that letter has become the basis of interpretation for the proper relationship between church and state in constitutional law. Dreisbach argues that the architectural metaphor, "wall of separation between church and state," has become the "defining motif for the constitutional role of religion in American public life・it] has become a cherished symbol for a strict separationist policy that champions a secular order in which religious influences are systematically removed from public life." Dreisbach demonstrates that such a formidable barrier between religion and civil government was never intended by early 19th century religious dissenters, the framers of the First Amendment, or even Jefferson himself. Dreisbach provides a detailed analysis of the historical context of Jefferson's letter. He discusses the conflict between the Federalist clergy and Republicans during the 1800 election over Jefferson's religious views. Dreisbach notes the support of the Republican Baptists of New England for Jefferson and the basis for this support. The New England Baptists suffered as a minority faith under an established church ・Congregationalism. There was mutual support between the Federalists and the Congregationalist clergy during the turn of the century, as evidenced by their alliance during the 1800 election. After Jefferson and the Republicans came to power, the New England Baptists hoped to find an ally of liberty in Jefferson and that he could somehow have an influential effect in favor of their disestablishment agenda. Jefferson's famous letter to the Danburry Baptists of Connecticut was his reply. Dreisbach notes that the Baptists were not enthusiastic about Jefferson's metaphor, 'wall of separation,' and that it may have done more harm than good for their cause. First, he states that "[t]he New England Baptists had framed their agenda in terms of disestablishment, but they did not want religious influences separated from public life and policy." Second, the Baptists might have feared that Jefferson's metaphor would be used against them by charging that they were advocates of separation (which they were not), a common charge used during this time to discredit religious dissenters. Dreisbach puts Jefferson's letter in context by interpreting it according to the time it was written and according to the man it was written by. He notes that "the word 'church,' rather than 'religion,' in Jefferson's restatement of the First Amendment emphasized that the constitutional separation was between ecclesiastical institutions and the civil state." Of greater importance, however, is Jefferson's jurisdictional interpretation of the Bill of Rights. Jefferson was first and foremost and advocate of states' rights and the First Amendment to the Constitution was no exception. As Dreisbach points out: "Although Jefferson・esired each state・o protect the natural rights of citizens, it is unlikely that he thought the First Amendment・as the appropriate device to achieve this goal. The use of a First Amendment wall to protect dissenters' religious rights in the states would have dangerously undermined that other great protector of civil and religious liberty ・federalism." Dreisbach argues that it is this jurisdictional nature of Jefferson's metaphor that distinguishes it so greatly from its contemporary use today. Dreisbach then traces the resurgence of Jefferson's metaphor in the judiciary and how its meaning became twisted into something bearing little resemblance to the original usage. He focuses primarily on Justice Black's opinion in Everson v. Board of Education (1947). Dreisbach contrasts the two uses of the metaphor: "Whereas Jefferson's 'wall' explicitly separated the institutions of church and state, Black's wall, more expansively, separates religion and all civil government. Moreover, Jefferson's 'wall' separated church and the federal government only・lack's wall separates religion and civil government at all levels ・federal, state, and local・Black turned the First Amendment, as ratified in 1791, on its head." Dreisbach then goes on to note how this use of the First Amendment actually goes against what it was intended to protect ・religious freedom. He asserts that, "Jefferson's metaphor is a source of much mischief because a wall emphasizes separation to the virtual exclusion of First Amendment values such as freedom of religious exercise and association. Separation becomes the ultimate First Amendment value, crowding out all the other values." Read this book with Hamburger's, Separation of Church and State.
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Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (Critical America)
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