One Nation Under God?

New Grounds for Accepting the Constitutionality of Government References to God

Richard H. Jones

A firestorm of controversy developed when Michael Newdow challenged the constitutionality of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. In order to understand the legal issues and the public reaction, One Nation Under God? explores the history of the government’s references to God in our national motto, on coins, and in other governmental announcements, along with a history of the Pledge of Allegiance. The book discusses the setting of American “civil religion” and other aspects of American culture and then delves into the background of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause rulings needed to understand the courts’ rulings on such governmental uses of “God.” State and federal cases on “In God We Trust” and “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and other references to God are also explored. Finally, a new rationale for accepting these pronouncements as constitutional is presented.

University Press of America

Pages: 192 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7618-5716-7 • Hardback • December 2011 • $94.00 • (£72.00)

978-0-7618-6162-1 • Paperback • September 2013 • $48.99 • (£38.00)

Subjects: Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State, Political Science / Constitutions, Political Science / American Government / General, Political Science / History & Theory

One Nation Under God?

New Grounds for Accepting the Constitutionality of Government References to God

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

A firestorm of controversy developed when Michael Newdow challenged the constitutionality of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. In order to understand the legal issues and the public reaction, One Nation Under God? explores the history of the government’s references to God in our national motto, on coins, and in other governmental announcements, along with a history of the Pledge of Allegiance. The book discusses the setting of American “civil religion” and other aspects of American culture and then delves into the background of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause rulings needed to understand the courts’ rulings on such governmental uses of “God.” State and federal cases on “In God We Trust” and “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and other references to God are also explored. Finally, a new rationale for accepting these pronouncements as constitutional is presented.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 192 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7618-5716-7 • Hardback • December 2011 • $94.00 • (£72.00)

978-0-7618-6162-1 • Paperback • September 2013 • $48.99 • (£38.00)

Subjects: Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State, Political Science / Constitutions, Political Science / American Government / General, Political Science / History & Theory

Author

Richard H. Jones holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the history and philosophy of religion and an A.B. from Brown University in religions studies. He also earned a J.D. from the University of California in Berkeley. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. A Brief History of Government’s References to God
“In God We Trust”
The Pledge and “Under God”
Religion and the Early Federal Government
American Civil Religion

2. Religion, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court
No Religious Tests
The Nonestablishment Clause
The Free Exercise Clause
The Free Speech Clause
Separationist and Accommodationist Ideals
Neutrality
The Lemon Test
The Endorsement Test
The Reasonable or Objective Observer
The Coercion Test
Acknowledgments of Our Religious Heritage
Legal Judgment
The Constitution and the Supreme Court

3. God-References and the Courts
Supreme Court Dicta
State Court Decisions
Lower Federal Court Decisions
Newdow v. the United States Congress

4. Assessing the Courts’ Arguments
Do the God-References Have Religious Meaning?
Have God-References Lost Their Religious Nature?
Affirmations, Creeds, and Entailed Beliefs
Ceremonial Deism
Historical Acknowledgments
Religious Symbolism and the Supreme Court
Religious Symbolism and Endorsement
Conclusion

5. A Better Approach for Upholding Government References to God
Religion Versus Religious Institutions
Sectarian and Nonsectarian Symbols
The Threshold Question
The Problem of Any Religious Symbols
Limitations on Symbolic Aid to Religion
Use of Other Religious Symbols
Government God-References in Public Schools
The Drawbacks to This Approach
Conclusion

Church-State Cases Cited

References and Other Works

Index