Faith and Freedom Religious Liberty in America by Marvin E. Frankel - Book Report/Review Example

Marvin Frankel gives a candid account of his views on an individual’s constitutional right to freedom, on the basis of his examination of the country’s most dramatic Supreme Court cases including issues surrounding the claimed rights of Native Americans over the use of peyote in religious ceremonies, Amish parents demanding laws to exempt their children from regular school attendance, etc that occurred over the last half-century.

Through these cases, he seeks to provide illuminating and enlightening evidence to justify his stance on the whole issue by thoroughly analyzing disputes over clauses governing religion in the First Amendment. He vehemently advocates the fact that in order to preserve religious liberties the “wall of separation” between the church and the state must be kept intact to the point of being virtually unbreakable. According to Frankel, America was initially formed as a secular nation, but it now finds itself torn between religious freedom and the laws of the state that forbids it to carry forward its legacy of religious tolerance.

He cites cases where the law forbade nonsectarian silent prayers in public schools, the striking down of Florida ordinances outlawing Santeria’s animal sacrifices, and the act of preventing Jews from creating a separate school district within the purview of its religious community.