Should the children pray? : a historical, judicial, and political examination of public school prayer /

With no conclusive answers to the question, "Should the children pray?", Fenwick instead provides a historial-legal discussion of the First Amendment's freedom of religion clauses and allows the readers to answer for themselves this most controversial issue. The author reveals the religous bigotry that flourished in the 17th-and 18th-century colonies and offers a panoramic view on the degree of religious freedom during the early Colonial period ranging from the relatively high level of religious freedom in Rhode Island and Georgia to the religious exclusivity in Maryland and Virginia. Discussions on the origins of the First Amendment and US Supreme Court interpretations of the separation of church and state cases are provided, with particular focus on Engel v. Vitale and Abington v. Schempp. Debates over the meaning of the religious-freedom clauses of the First Amendment are also examined. Fenwick concludes that the separation of church and state is worthy of preservation but to do so will require constant and informed vigilance. A good source about religious trends in the US for general readers and undergraduates. -R. A. Strickland, Appalachian State University