High Court Eroding Constitutional Grant of Religious Freedom, Book Says

NEW YORK —  The “wall of separation” between church and state has been dangerously breached by the U. S. Supreme Court during the last decade, according to a new book published by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.

The book, “Lowering the Wall: Religion and the Supreme Court in the 1980s,” was written by Gregg Ivers, assistant professor of government at American University’s School of Public Affairs. It concludes that the court in recent years has made numerous incursions into both the “establishment” and the “free exercise” clauses of the First Amendment.

As examples of erosions of the establishment clause, the book cites the court’s approval of tax relief for parents of parochial school students, its upholding of state-sponsored Christmas and Hanukkah displays on both public and private property and its ruling that student religious clubs can meet in public schools.