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Return to Book Page. Preview — God on Trial by Peter Irons. God on Trial by Peter Irons. An insightful and dramatic account of religious conflicts that keep America divided-from the acclaimed author of The Courage of Their Convictions As the United States has become increasingly conservative, both politically and socially, in recent years, the fight between the religious right and those advocating for the separation of church and state has only intensified.
As An insightful and dramatic account of religious conflicts that keep America divided-from the acclaimed author of The Courage of Their Convictions As the United States has become increasingly conservative, both politically and socially, in recent years, the fight between the religious right and those advocating for the separation of church and state has only intensified.
As he did in "The Courage of Their Convictions," award-winning author and legal expert Peter Irons combines an approachable, journalistic narrative style with intimate first-person accounts from both sides of the conflict. You know, there there there has been really a sea change in attitudes toward gays and lesbians in our society, as there was earlier, toward African-Americans and women. But I can see in looking at public opinion polls and in just, you know, keeping in touch with what people are saying, that there is a significant change, whether this is going to become a real issue in the upcoming campaign.
I do see a change in public acceptance of gays and lesbians and the other racial and and sexual minorities that we were talking about. You know, as a historian, I look back at all the changes in American society since the country was founded and how different groups who were really badly oppressed by our society, particularly African-Americans and then women.
More recently, gays and lesbians have fought so hard to get civil rights not only through the courts, but the political system. And I think that the really one of the last groups that will benefit from these changes, particularly a growing public tolerance, somebody once said that the reason that people are becoming more tolerant in our society is the actuarial people. And I think if you look at the polls, this is very clear to see.
But also, D. That other groups have reached in their struggles for civil rights. And the first is that America is a Christian nation. That history proves America is a Christian nation. Yes, the the first part and no to the second. Most of them were desists of some sort. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, people like that.
But the second thing is that they did not and they very intentionally did not write the Constitution as a Christian document. They were very clear about this. In fact, John Adams, one of one of my own ancestors, said very clearly that this country was not founded upon the Christian religion. And Jefferson agreed with him.
So here we have two of the primary framers of the Constitution and our entire system who were very clear that this is not a nation in which state and religion were to be joined. So if America is not a Christian nation, what about the argument that church state separation is a myth just perpetrated by liberals and secular humanist and atheist? Well, could be very delicate about it, T. The idea that, you know, that this is all a myth is a matter of fact.
James Madison, who is the primary drafter, both of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, said that what he intended was, quote, a total separation of church and state.
You know, this is not something that was made up recently by liberal judges. And the funny thing is that most of the judges who ruled on the cases that I write about in Gone on trial were themselves conservative Republicans. But they were following precedent, going back many years in the Supreme Court that there was the separation of church and state. So people people who claim that this is a myth or who say, well, the phrase separation of church and state is not in the Constitution.
But the principle of church state separation is embedded very deeply, not all, not only in the Constitution, but in our legal history, our tradition and our values as a nation.
That is the idea of a of a theocratic state. Last question, Peter, in. In the U. Not even talking about their influence. Their numbers seem to be shrinking even while the unchurched, the atheists, the agnostics are growing in numbers there. Do you think that this means that the battles over church state separation, these very divisive battles over the role of religion in society, are they only going to keep getting more heated?
I mean, do you think that there will be even more cases like the ones you detail and God on trial? It seems like the public debate around these issues is just getting more and more shrill. And at the same time, the more fundamentalist evangelical group is shrinking in numbers. But at the same time, you know, these religious right people realize that they are losing this battle. And in response, they are becoming more and more, as you said, shrill.
They are ratcheting up the rhetoric. They are trying very hard to make the best of this situation. I do think that there are going to be. More and more cases involving these issues in the courts. If someone reads your book and takes your assessment of all this seriously, you give each side a fair shake.
You give each side good treatment in. And how you let them explain their perspectives, explain why they have the agenda they have. Well, the question is, if someone reads your book, gets that kind of overview, sees both sides, and Ben is as alarmed as you still appear to be after examining all of this. What are they to do? What should a listener do?
Well, there are two good answers to that question. One is one is to really become involved in these issues and the other. This should be worth reading by those who are interested in the law but also those who take their freedoms seriously.
Feb 03, Dallas Koehn rated it it was amazing. God On Trial then deep-dives into a half-dozen major church-state cases from the past half-century and somehow manages to remain engaging and relevant at every point along the way. Part of what makes this particular text so fascinating is how effectively Irons humanizes the major players on all sides of the issues. If you're mostly looking for concise overviews of cases, this can be maddening, but as an exploration of what's really behind the proceedings, it's wonderful.
He spends far more time talking about those arguing the case on each side than the judges deciding it or their official opinions. Each chapter concludes with first-hand accounts from selected participants, clearly chosen with balanced perspectives in mind. Despite being published nearly 15 years ago, it remains timely and relevant to ongoing debates and should be a go-to reference for anyone interested in the topic.
This book helped me think about society in a different way. In fact, it left me asking myself more questions than it answered. I appreciated the attempt at neutrality by the other, but it is definitely slanted liberal, but not overly so. I appreciated being able to hear from someone on each side of the case.
It helped me to see why they thought they were doing the right thing. Funny thing is that some of the people were so sure of their side, that they didn't even see the hate in their statement This book helped me think about society in a different way. Funny thing is that some of the people were so sure of their side, that they didn't even see the hate in their statements.
This was from both sides of the cases. I don't know much sense this book will make to someone who has not studied rights in a Constitutional Law class. I think it's written so that someone who hasn't studied law, but just has an open mind, that they would enjoy the book. Aug 26, Brandon rated it liked it Shelves: three , Having read parts of this for a law class, I decided it was time to go back and read the rest of it.
While I found it informative on the cases presented, I thought the writing was rather mundane. Luckily, I enjoy reading about this sort of thing and could handle the rather bland writing. I was a little put off by the fact that the author said he used a lot of internet resources, but I find the book to be a good introduction into the subject rather than the be all and end all. He also said he did Having read parts of this for a law class, I decided it was time to go back and read the rest of it.
He also said he didn't want to bog the reader down with footnotes, but as someone who picked this up to be more informed I would have loved to see all the footnotes. Nov 18, Amber rated it it was ok Shelves: teacher-resources. I read this book for my foundations in education class at UGA. The book discusses several large religious cases that have an impact in the classroom as well as many important landmarks.
It was interesting to learn the history behind monuments and cases that impacted history. However, the chapters were very long and it would have probably been better to simply read segments of the book rather than the entire book. I think it is a good book for educators to have to know why certain laws have come I read this book for my foundations in education class at UGA.
I think it is a good book for educators to have to know why certain laws have come into action and what is appropriate in the classroom today. Aug 07, Stephen rated it liked it. An interesting read regarding religion and politics and how both have impacted our everyday lives. As Irons notes, this history is not merely interesting, but doctrinally significant. The Court decided Everson — holding that it was constitutional for New Jersey to spend tax dollars to pay the bus fares of school children in private parochial religious schools — only sixty years ago.
Since then, the courts have made up for lost time; the Supreme Court has averaged approximately one Establishment Clause decision per year and the lower courts have rendered tens of thousands of others in the past half-century. Because of the depraved mythology about atheism and widespread contempt for anyone professing disbelief or skepticism of Christianity, an admitted atheist in the United States could not get elected Deputy in a one horse town in Nevada.
Despite being benign and innocuous atheism is merely an expression of disbelief in the proposition: "God exists". Unjustifiably, atheists are the most reviled and persecuted group in the United States with, for example, many having been denied promotion or even fired at their places of employment by admitting to being an atheist. It's about as inane as being persecuted for not believing in fairies.
If you have ever been curious as to how a high school football pre-game prayer in small-town Texas or the reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance "One Nation Under God" in an elementary school in Elk Grove California wind up at the U. Supreme Court, this is the book for you. Other cases include postings of the Ten Commandments in a small town in Kentucky, erections of huge Christian crosses on city lands in San Diego and the endorsement of "Intelligent Design" a smoke screen for creationism in high school biology classes in Dover, Pennsylvania.
They are magnificently chronicled by Irons complete with interesting and eye-opening interviews with the key players such as Dr. Michael Newdow a medical doctor, lawyer and professed atheist who challenged the Pledge of Allegiance because he didn't want his daughter indoctrinated into any religion.
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