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Without a Prayer: Religious Expression in Public Education by Robert S. Alley published by Prometheus Books

In 1962 (Engel v. Vitale) and 1963 (Abington v. Schempp), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in public school classrooms the recitation of prayer and the reading of the Bible as a class exercise are indisputably unconstitutional. Since that time, there have been hundreds of overt and intentional violations of those decisions, leading to dozens of federal court cases in which the judges and justices have reaffirmed the Court's original findings. Many of the challenges to the Court decisions have sought to undermine the principle of church/state separation, a unique concept carefully crafted by James Madison and many other founders of the United States. Without A Prayer is the first thorough examination of school prayer to bring together the experiences of parents and children involved in contesting public school-sanctioned prayer and Bible reading subsequent to the Engel decision. Robert Alley explores the way in which terms like "nonpreferentialism", "toleration", and "accommodation" are being used to hide violations of the First Amendment. Alley has conducted extensive personal interviews with those involved in prominent cases. Each first hand account clearly details how communities attempt to impose the mores and cultural patterns of religion on their public schools: in some instances these "Christians" have gone beyond angry protests to threats of violence against the parents and children, and even as far as arson and other property damage. To respond to the question, "What's wrong with a little prayer?" one need only observe the ways in which religious fervor leads to the use of the Bible and prayer as a weapon against minorities. Robert S. Alley is a professor emeritus of humanities at the University of Richmond (Virginia). He is the author of The Supreme Court on Church and State, School Prayer, and the editor of James Madison on Religious Liberty. "Alley presents powerful historical and legal arguments against this campaign to turn a secular nation into a narrowly defined theocracy. . . . Beatings, arsons, intimidation, an occasional castration, all carried out by 'Christians' seeking to further the cause of government-sponsored, force-fed school prayer and religious instruction. If you care about any of this you should get a copy of Robert Alley's book, while you can before the bonfires begin, and brush up on this latest, sorry chapter of hatred and hypocrisy in the name of God." --Mesa Tribune "Alley traces the steps of families who took legal action against school systems and forced the Supreme Court to clarify the role of religion in the public school. His explanations of those defining church-state decisions by the Court shed new light on a complicated issues. Attention to detail allows Alley to transform mere names attached to pivotal church-state cases into real people with real struggles and real courage who risked safety and pride, all in the name of liberty." --Report from the Capital "Alley's greatest service is to expose the hypocrisy and disingenuousness of those who advocate greater leeway for religious practices in public settings. Highly recommended for anyone concerned with the defense of First Amendment rights." --Choice

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