Religion on Trial

From colonial times to the present, an insightful examination of how courts have determined the extent to which religion is accommodated in American public life.

From the internationally renowned Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925, which pitted a public school teacher arrested for teaching evolution against the state of Tennessee, Religion on Trial chronicles key court cases that have shaped the tumultuous relationship between church and state throughout U.S. history.

This volume chronicles such groundbreaking cases as the 1991 decision ordering blood transfusions for children of Christian Scientists in Norwood Hospital v. Munoz and the infamous case, Engel v. Vitale, that banned prayer in schools and ignited calls for Chief Justice Earl Warren's impeachment. The work addresses such inflammatory contemporary disputes as prayer in schools, allegiance to the flag, and the display of religious symbols on public property, and the impact they have had on American society.



A–Z entries cover people, laws, events, and concepts that have shaped the legal debate over religion in the United States

A chronology begins in colonial times and extends through the present, with a special focus on important court cases of the 20th century