Book Reviewed: Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life by Randall Balmer

Freedom of Religion Numerous books have been written about the First Amendment of the constitution, especially the separation of church and state component. This short book of 112 pages reads quickly, but the author’s review of few supreme court cases falls too short to convince the readers of his conclusion that it has served the nation remarkably well. This is by no means a thought-provoking book compared to other books available in the literature, but nonetheless some points need to be made with regards to freedom of religion. One of the contentious issue is who holds majority in the supreme court, the liberals, or conservatives? With the recent appointments of conservative judges, the court has tilted to a more conservative interpretation of the constitution. The First Amendment codified the principle that the government should play no role in favoring or supporting any religion. The prohibition on an establishment of religion includes prayer in a government settings, or financial aid for religious individuals, or institutions to comment on religious questions, free expression of one’s religious beliefs, etc. There is a fine line between freedom of religion and fundamental human rights. Cases liker a baker refusing to bake cake for gay couple, or a group of high school students conducting prayers during lunch time were network news until recently. But the pundits teaching at law schools must discuss freedom of religion openly and honestly instead of taking a politically correct position. The demographics in the U.S have changed since the establishment of U.S. Constitution. For example, Muslims believe that Sharia Law is required by God and must be imposed worldwide. But if this religious belief has a strong political component, one needs to question the application of the principles of the first amendment. Apostasy in Islam is deemed "treasonous" against the Muslim community, and punishable by death. Blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam or criticizes prophet Muhammad. Sharia Law has the potential to challenge the freedom of religion of the first amendment which must include other minority religions besides Abrahamic faiths. Several countries in Asia and Europe have the equivalent of the freedom of religion component in their constitution and they have served very well for these countries. Recently a bill was passed in France that seeks to protect French values like gender equality and secularism to prevent radical religious ideas to inspire violence. This bill also increases oversight of Muslim mosques. French also strongly believes that Muslim women wearing hijab, niqab and burqa are not religious beliefs but a violation of women’s rights. Then how is that the United States consider this a religious issue and not a human right violation?