Religion on Trial: How Supreme Court Trends Threaten Freedom of Conscience in America - Softcover

Phillip E. Hammond is D. Mackenzie Brown Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He has written numerous books and articles, including The School Prayer Decisions: From Court Policy to Local Practice (1971), The Protestant Presence in Twentieth Century America: Religion and Political Culture (1992), Religion and Personal Autonomy: The Third Disestablishment in America (1992), and With Liberty for All: Freedom of Religion in the United States (1998).

David W. Machacek is resident fellow at the Greenberg Center for Religion in Public Life and visiting assistant professor of public policy at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. His relevant publications include: "Religious and Sexual Liberty: Civic versus Personal Morality in the United States" in his forthcoming volume Sexuality and the World's Religions (2003), "The Problem of Religious Pluralism" in the journal Sociology of Religion (2003), and "Religion in Civil Society" in The Encyclopedia of Community (2003). He is also co-author with Phillip E. Hammond of Soka Gakkai in America: Accomodation and Conversion (1999).

Eric Michael Mazur is associate professor of religion at Bucknell University. His publications include The Americanization of Religious Minorities: Confronting the Constitutional Order (1999), ""The Supreme Law of the Land': Sources of Conflict between Native Americans and the Constitutional Order" in American Indian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues (1997), "Constitutional Authoirty and Prospects for Social Justice for High Tension Religious Communities" in the journal Social Justice Research (1996), and with Phillip Hammond, "Church, State, and the Dilemma of Conscience" in the Journal of Church and State (1995).

Religion on Trial is a remarkable, readable, and commendable achievement. (Journal of Church and State)

Hammond, Machacek, and Mazur have produced a powerful and engaging work which documents a clear and present danger to religious freedom emanating from the Supreme Court itself. This book, accessible and engaging, should be of interest to any American open to the idea that separation of church and state is a cornerstone of real democracy and genuine moral choice. The work is infused with solid historical scholarship, thoughtful core studies, and compelling arguments for keeping a decent distance between religious institutions and government. (Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State)

The book is scholarly, yet written for a general adult reading audience. It is unique in its thesis and makes a contribution to the literature on freedom of conscience. It is highly controversial, but once one readers agree with the book's premise, its conclusion logically follows. . . . It is a splendid book. (Robert W. Langran, Villanova University Perspectives on Political Science)

Well written and of quite manageable length. Recommendeddddd (CHOICE)

Religion on Trial is a book that many, including some justices of the Supreme Court, will hate. Because they assert that the regressive justices of the Court are unfaithful to the Constitution, the authors raise alarm about the present state and future of separation of church and state and its corollary, religious freedom. Thoroughly grounded in history, their argument is a paean to freedom of conscience and a cautionary tale about the current Court and allowing any more regressive justices to be appointed to the court. Those who cherish religious freedom and civil rights generally will find much to ponder, and be dismayed about, in this informative, provocative, and readable book. (Ronald Flowers, Texas Christian University)

A superb and readily accessible account of the story of Freedom of Conscience under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution―Religion on Trial is a powerful indictment of the 'regressive' justices of the current U.S. Supreme Court. Everyone for whom freedom of conscience is important, that is every American, should take heed. (Barbara A. McGraw, author of Rediscovering America's Sacred Ground: Public Religion and the Pursuit of Good in a Pluralistic America)

Well written and of quite manageable length. Recommended (CHOICE)

Solidly argued. (Library Journal)

Religion on Trial makes the historical debates about religion clauses accessible to a broad audience. In addition, it properly links issues of free exercise of religion to issues about fundamental rights in a manner that is usually missed by legal scholars and political scientists. Consequently, this book would be a good addition to undergraduate, graduate, and law school courses on the religion clause or on law and religion. (Law and Politics Book Review)