Government Jurist

Government Jurist

Government Jurist

Posted on: February 13, 2012 - 3:25 pm
by Admin

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits Congress from making laws "respecting the establisment of religion." The clause was adopted as an overt opposition to the practice of having official state churches that were supported by taxation, as was prevalent in Europe and the American colonies of the time. Thomas Jefferson referred to this concept as a "wall of separation between church and state." In Everson v. Board of Education (1947) the Supreme Case adopted Jefferson's phrase.

Another brick has been added to the wall. With the nomination of David Hamilton to the bench, President Obama has added a jurist to the federal roster with a record of supporting a stringent separation.

Testing Ground: Prayer in Public School

There is no greater collision between the religious and the secular than on the issue of prayer in public school. This is the preeminent battle over the separation in the present day political culture. What does the Establishment Clause mean in a public school? Does it require Jefferson's high wall of separation? It is fair to say that the Supreme court has been stricter when applying the Establishment Clause in this environment. Observing the Establishment clause in the context of a public school emphasizes the importance of "neutrality" by school faculty towards religion.