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A Nation Under God? The ACLU and Religion in American Politics questions the claim of the ACLU that the First Amendment to the Constitution requires the complete cleansing of any religious expression in the American public square. That position, Krannawitter and Palm argue, is not consistent with the principles of the American founding, but derives from early 20th century progressivism and modern liberalism that requires ultimately a reconstituting of the American regime along completely secular lines. A re-examination of the American founding, its theoretical and constitutional principles, allows for limited religious expression without violating the constitutional principle of religious liberty.
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Krannawitter (political science, Hillsdale College) and Palm (political science, Azusa Pacific U.) contend that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has no intention of closely defining the First Amendment's religion clause, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Instead, they assert, the ACLU routinely attacks the clause, and does so as part of an agenda to remake America along progressive if not communist lines. They argue that the ACLU was founded on this intention, that such an agenda runs counter to the intentions of those who wrote the clause, that the ACLU has every intention of continuing their efforts against mainstream faiths through the courts. Further, they write, the ACLU intends to make a mockery of the clause by electing to support the free exercise of Satanism and atheism. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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