Synopsis
This is the large print edition of The Court and the Cross. An investigation into the Religious Right, judicial nominees, and future decisions on evolution, prayer in schools, abortion, and more. While President George W. Bush has appointed two Supreme Court justices during his terms in office, the next president may be in a position to appoint up to three new justices, replacing one third of the Court. This relatively high number could drastically alter future Supreme Court rulings. Now is the perfect time to consider the role of politics in Supreme Court nominations and in the new appointees' ensuing decisions. In The Court and the Cross, legal journalist Frederick Lane reveals how one political movement, the Religious Right, has dedicated much of the last thirty years to molding the federal judiciary, always with an eye toward getting their choices onto the Supreme Court. This political work has involved grassroots campaigns, aggressive lobbying, and a well-tended career path for conservative law students and attorneys, and it has been incredibly effective in influencing major Court decisions on a range of important social issues. Recent decisions by the Right's favored judges have chipped away at laws banning prayer in school, bolstered restrictions on women's access to abortion and birth control, and given legal approval to President Bush's use of federal funds for religious organizations. In the near future, the courts will confront a host of hot-button issues, from stem cell research and gay rights to religious expression on government property and euthanasia. As the courts hear cases driven by an evangelical agenda and tainted with religious rhetoric, Lane surveys the damage to the wall separating church and state and asks, Has the Religious Right done irreparable harm? As a new president takes office, it is more important than ever to understand the political and social forces behind the Supreme Court nomination process. The Court and the Cross is a revealing look at how much has already been lost, thanks to the concerted efforts of the Religious Right to change the Court, and a timely warning of how much more we could yet lose.
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Review
"Credit freelance journalist Lane for an exceptional, insightful work illuminating both the history of America's civil courts, and for showing how their evolution has brought us to where we are today."
"Separation of church and state is so basic a part of American values and history that it is hard to realize it is under threat. But it is, profoundly. . . . Frederick Lane explains why: a relentless, determined and successful campaign by the Christian Right to put its supporters on the federal courts, especially the Supreme Court. It is a colorful and compelling book."
--Anthony Lewis, author of "Gideon's Trumpet" and "Freedom for the Thought We Hate" "Frederick Lane's illuminating, important "The Court and the Cross" punctures the Religious Right's canards and deftly explains what's at stake."
--Michelle Goldberg, author of "Kingdom Coming
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Separation of church and state is so basic a part of American values and history that it is hard to realize it is under threat. This is a colorful and compelling book.--Anthony Lewis, author of "Freedom for the Thought We Hate"
"Nowhere has the Religious Right's effort to remake America been more successful, or more poorly understood, than in its campaign to control the courts, a campaign rooted in a revisionist history that seeks to write secularism out of the nation's past. Frederick Lane's illuminating, important "The Court and the Cross" punctures the movement's canards and deftly explains what's at stake."--Michelle Goldberg, author of "Kingdom Coming"
"This timely and disturbing book offers a much-needed wake-up call to all who cherish our Constitution and understand that the separation of church and state was America's founding gift to its own citizens and the world." --Susan Jacoby, author of "The Age of American Unreason"
"If you are not sure that the decisions of the Supreme Court matter much to you in your daily life, read "The Court and the Cross" and I guarantee you'll be rethinking that position. The Court's erosion of your individual religious freedom and the dictates of your conscience has already begun."--The Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and author of "Piety & Politics"
About the Author
A graduate of Boston College Law School, Frederick S. Lane is a freelance journalist, lecturer, and expert witness. He has written three previous books on how legal issues affect society, including most recently The Decency Wars. He lives with his family in Burlington, Vermont.
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