Description
"Barry Adamson cuts through the modern confusion and returns the original clarity with breathtaking simplicity. This book is a must-read for every citizen who cares about the future of his country."
-David Barton, WallBuilders
In colonial America, everyone knew the meaning of the terms "establishment" and "established church": an official, monopolistic governmental religion. The colonists also well knew the various negative attributes associated with the "established church," especially compelled financial support and attendance. Every colonial state, except Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, had an established church at one time. Before the revolution, some states had disestablished their churches.
Those who had suffered most, especially the Baptists of Virginia, demanded protection in the form of a Bill of Rights. Virginia refused to ratify the constitution unless this amendment was added, and it became the First Amendment, stating, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibit the free exercise thereof.
In his book, Adamson explains in detail how the Court flunked history and got it wrong, how they seized on a phrase not even in the constitution, and have gradually built freedom of religion into a restraint of religious liberty. The Bill of Rights was a guarantee of freedom to the citizen. The court is busy building restraints to that freedom.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barry Adamson received his B.S. from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. Although retired, he still carries on his passion for law by producing articles and opinion columns on the subject. Many of these articles have been published in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin (a lawyers' monthly journal) and the Portland Oregonian newspaper. In his spare time Adamson is an accomplished musician who has recorded and produced original music for five albums.
