First Freedom First: A Citizens' Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State

This book is admittedly written from a left leaning group, Americans United. But with that bias, it does examine closely the history of the separation of church and state through the major cases that were decided at the Supreme Court. It also goes through and invalidates the majority (if not all) the arguments that the religious right makes to try to get more religion into the laws and schools. It also makes excellent arguments on why there should be separation of church and state and explains why if there is no separation, both church and state would suffer and become weaker. This book is very anti religious right and anti George W. Bush and his administration, so be forewarned.

Freedom of religion is a fundamental right that many consider the most important of the rights specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Two men who are fervent believers in the importance of religious freedom are Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy and Rev. Barry Lynn. These two men are Constitutional crusaders who joined forces to produce this book, with contributions that include political/activist information as well as historical facts and legal analysis of the church state issue; where it presently stands and where it is headed. First Freedom First opens with a pronouncement stressing the present crisis that religious freedom faces as the various factions of the Religious Right continue to erode religious freedom and continue to push the nation slowly toward a more theocratic form of government. Once the book has grabbed the reader's full attention in the introduction, it proceeds to talk about the issue of religious freedom complete with historical perspectives on religious freedom; the politicization of religion by certain groups; the debunking of popular church/state separation myths; the different ways that the Religious Right has tried to change the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution; and the importance of protecting the integrity of religion by keeping it beyond the reach of government control. Gaddy writes convincingly as he confronts the common falsehoods surrounding the meaning of the First Amendment and as he offers different means to promote religion by keeping it out of the political realm. Lynn's part of the book is only slightly different. In this, the second part of the book, more history of the church/state issue is offered, complete with court cases and outcomes, as well as some commentary on the pressing issues of the day and how the Religious Right has exploited these issues for political gain. Issues as diverse as global warming and stem cell research are examined, with the book pointing out the possible motivations behind the Religious Right on some of the important issues of our day. In some instances, the motives seem pretty clear and it is easy to see why some members of these different organizations feel the way they do. But other issues are not so clear- cut, like global warming, for example. Most of the Religious Right's leadership either doesn't believe global warming is real; doesn't care about the consequences, or both. How global warming and its long- term implications are deserving of such a rebuke by the Religious Right is uncertain, since they have little or nothing to do with faith and morals, but the book offers a few possibilities so that the reader can gain a better understanding of the Religious Right mindset. I like the inclusion of educational material relating to the U.S. Constitution and the meaning behind some of the legal terms that often lead to confusion among the members of the public. Those who have been active in the defense of religious liberty are fully aware of the meaning behi