The following is a research proposal done as part of a class. I may never do this project, and while my claims here are supported by the evidence that I found, this is far from a completed project, and so can't be taken as a solid argument.
Discussion
of the Topic:
The
topic of this research project is the complex and seemingly
contradictory histories of the Constitutionality of religious
practices inside the United States Government. While the primary
study will be on the federal level, some important state cases, like
the 1927 Scopes trial,
may also be examined. It may seem that until the latter half of the
20th
Century there is a tendency for government to endorse religious
beliefs and practices (Lewis 2002, 78-80). While that is compounded
by the ceremonial and patriotic governmental mentions of “God”
(Newdow v. Rio Linda 2010,
3877), it is a mistake to believe that the Constitution allowed any
level of government to endorse religion, or prefer religion over
non-religious beliefs (Schauer 1996, 444).
