One nation under God? : new grounds for accepting the constitutionality of government references to God
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
One nation under God? : new grounds for accepting the constitutionality of government references to God
University Press of America, c2012
- : clothbound
Available at 4 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
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  Tochigi
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  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
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  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
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  United States of America
Note
Bibliography: p. [169]-179
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
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.
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
by "Nielsen BookData"