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School vouchers. The Pledge of Allegiance. The ban on government grants for theology students. The abundance of church and state issues brought before the Supreme Court in recent years underscores an incontrovertible truth in the American legal system: the relationship between the state and religion in this country is still fluid and changing. This, the second of two volumes by historian and legal scholar James Hitchcock, offers a complete analysis and interpretation of the Court's historical understanding of religion, explaining the revolutionary change that occurred in the 1940s. In

School vouchers. The Pledge of Allegiance. The ban on government grants for theology students. The abundance of church and state issues brought before the Supreme Court in recent years underscores an incontrovertible truth in the American legal system: the relationship between the state and religion in this country is still fluid and changing. This, the first of two volumes by historian and legal scholar James Hitchcock, provides the first comprehensive exploration of the Supreme Court's approach to religion, offering a close look at every case, including some that scholars have ignor

In the midst of the Democratic national convention in July, 1976, Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph L.Bernardin of Cincinnati spoke out publicly against the party's recently adopted platform plank favoring legal abortions. The plank, he said, was offensive to many Catholics.Stuart Eizenstat, a key aide to Governor Jimmy Carter, who was about to become the party's presidential nominee, told the press that the archbishop's statement "was not from the hierarchy." "My understanding is that many in the hierarchy were extremely upset and in effect told him to cool it. No one has come to his support. I think that fellow went out on a limb."Archbishop Bernardin was in fact the elected president of the American bishops and was speaking in their name. After numerous telegrams from bishops protesting Eizenstat's remark, he apologized, explaining that he had not known who Archbishop Bernardin was.

Whether religion significantly influenced the results of the 1976 Presidential election, and specifically whether Jimmy Carter had a "Catholic problem" stemming from the abortion issue or other less tangible considerations, will no doubt be debated for some time to come. The recent election did, however, raise other kinds of questions regarding the relationship between religion and politics that have scarcely been recognized but that may have serious meanings for the future of religion in America.