Karen Kraft
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An interesting timeline from the current issue of Smithsonian Magazine:
"There is no evidence that Thomas Jefferson ever read of a "wall of separation" in Roger Williams' work, but in 1802 Jefferson wrote a letter to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, citing his "reverence" for the First Amendment for "building a wall of separation between Church & State." That letter brought the "wall" image into wider usage, fueling a running argument over its meaning, especially in the Supreme Court.
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1878
In Reynolds v. U.S., the court unanimously rejected a Mormon’s challenge to a federal law banning bigamy, saying religious practices judged to be criminal had no constitutional protection. Jefferson’s letter, the court held, “may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [First] amendment.”
1947
New Jersey could pay to transport students to parochial as well as public schools, the court ruled, 5-4, in Everson v. Board of Education. The church-state wall “must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the lightest breach,” the opinion said, but New Jersey “has not breached it here.”
1948
However, the First Amendment does forbid religious instruction on public-school property during the school day, the court ruled, 8-1, in McCollum v. Board of Education. “This,” the opinion said, “is not separation of Church and State.”
1952
But public schools could release students during the day for religious instruction elsewhere, the court ruled, 6-1, in Zorach v. Clauson. The majority’s opinion said the First Amendment “does not say that, in every and all respects there shall bea separation of Church and State.”
1962
Public schools could not institute a daily prayer, even if it was voluntary and nondenominational, the court held, 6-3, in Engel v. Vitale. Justice Potter Stewart dissented that “constitutional adjudication is not responsibly aided by the uncritical invocation of metaphors like the ‘wall of separation.’ ”
1984
The city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, could include a crèche in Christmas decorations in a public place, the court ruled, 5-4, in Lynch v. Donnelly. “The [wall] metaphor itself is not a wholly accurate description of the practical aspects of the relationship that in fact exists between church and state,” the majority said
2005
Texas could display the Ten Commandments at its capitol, but Kentucky counties could not do so at courthouses, the court ruled in Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky. Why? Texas’ display was in a secular context, with other symbols of “people, ideals and events that compose Texan identity.”
2011
“Since Van Orden and McCreary, lower courts have understandably expressed confusion,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in dissent after the court declined to hear a case involving crosses displayed beside Utah highways in honor of police officers who died in the line of duty. A lower court had ruled against such displays.
From The Smithsonian Magazine, current issue. Related Article: God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea."
Your comments?
"There is no evidence that Thomas Jefferson ever read of a "wall of separation" in Roger Williams' work, but in 1802 Jefferson wrote a letter to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, citing his "reverence" for the First Amendment for "building a wall of separation between Church & State." That letter brought the "wall" image into wider usage, fueling a running argument over its meaning, especially in the Supreme Court.
------
1878
In Reynolds v. U.S., the court unanimously rejected a Mormon’s challenge to a federal law banning bigamy, saying religious practices judged to be criminal had no constitutional protection. Jefferson’s letter, the court held, “may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [First] amendment.”
1947
New Jersey could pay to transport students to parochial as well as public schools, the court ruled, 5-4, in Everson v. Board of Education. The church-state wall “must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the lightest breach,” the opinion said, but New Jersey “has not breached it here.”
1948
However, the First Amendment does forbid religious instruction on public-school property during the school day, the court ruled, 8-1, in McCollum v. Board of Education. “This,” the opinion said, “is not separation of Church and State.”
1952
But public schools could release students during the day for religious instruction elsewhere, the court ruled, 6-1, in Zorach v. Clauson. The majority’s opinion said the First Amendment “does not say that, in every and all respects there shall bea separation of Church and State.”
1962
Public schools could not institute a daily prayer, even if it was voluntary and nondenominational, the court held, 6-3, in Engel v. Vitale. Justice Potter Stewart dissented that “constitutional adjudication is not responsibly aided by the uncritical invocation of metaphors like the ‘wall of separation.’ ”
1984
The city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, could include a crèche in Christmas decorations in a public place, the court ruled, 5-4, in Lynch v. Donnelly. “The [wall] metaphor itself is not a wholly accurate description of the practical aspects of the relationship that in fact exists between church and state,” the majority said
2005
Texas could display the Ten Commandments at its capitol, but Kentucky counties could not do so at courthouses, the court ruled in Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky. Why? Texas’ display was in a secular context, with other symbols of “people, ideals and events that compose Texan identity.”
2011
“Since Van Orden and McCreary, lower courts have understandably expressed confusion,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in dissent after the court declined to hear a case involving crosses displayed beside Utah highways in honor of police officers who died in the line of duty. A lower court had ruled against such displays.
From The Smithsonian Magazine, current issue. Related Article: God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea."
Your comments?
