Let's assume, for purposes of argument, that Jeffries and Ryan are correct in saying that elites support separation of church and state and ordinary folks don't. How does that illuminate any discussion of the meaning of the Establishment Clause?
________________________________ From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Duncan Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 12:56 PM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Re: Government Religious Displays and Substantive Neutrality Art Spitzer wrote: In a message dated 3/31/09 6:02:12 PM, layco...@umich.edu writes: Here's one more way to think about it: ... the rule that government must be religiously neutral [is] a special protection for religion .... Government can not try either to coerce you or persuade you to change your views about religion. That ... is the greatest level of possible protection. Yes, but it's an entirely hypothetical (and thus unimportant) protection to those who are comfortably in the majority, and who therefore can, without perceived risk to their own views, seek to get the government to coerce or persuade others to change their views. Isn't that why so many local government officials would react to Doug's excellent point with blank stares? It just doesn't relate to their world. Art Spitzer ACLU It took me a couple of days to run down the reference, but I love the way Profs. Jeffries and Ryan describe the huge gap in the way cultural elites and ordinary folks think about the EC. Jeffries and Ryan observe that "the controversy over school prayer revealed a huge gap between the cultural elite and the rest of America. People generally may have supported school prayer and Bible reading, but the leadership class did not." They also note that "elite support for the Supreme Court's secularization project was clearly visible in the activities of law professors and deans." See Jeffries & Ryan, A Political History of the establishment Clause, 100 MICH. L. REV. 279, 325 (2001). I really enjoyed this thread. Cheers, Rick
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