A Judicial Postscript to the Church-State Debates of 1989: How Porous the Wall, How Civil the State?

Authors

William W. Van Alstyne, Duke Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1990

Keywords

Establishment Clause, religion, First Amendment, church and state, Supreme Court

Abstract

This work is a continuation of the debate regarding the Establishment Clause. The focus lies with Justice O’Connor’s concurrence in County of Allegheny v. ACLU and how this opinion harkens back to a concept shared by Jefferson and Madison, that the establishment clause is designed to prevent government favoritism.

Citation

William W. Van Alstyne, A Judicial Postscript to the Church-State Debates of 1989: How Porous the Wall, How Civil the State?, 4 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 559-566 (1990)