Ellery's Protest: How One Young Man Defied Tradition and Sparked the Battle over School Prayer,Used

Solomons fascinating and sweeping history of the legal fight over mandatory school prayers is compelling, judicious, and elegantly written. Fabulous!David Rudenstine, Dean, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva UniversityStephen Solomons Ellerys Protest provides a brilliant analysis of a major Supreme Court decision that redefined the relationship between church and state almost a half century ago. This study goes well beyond simply offering a gripping account of the course of litigation that brought before the Justices the contentious issue of prayer and Bible reading in public schools, though the thoroughness of that account would merit careful reading by itself. Especially impressive is the authors deep probing of hitherto neglected sources, and invaluable primary material including extensive direct contact with the plaintiff, the Ellery of the books title. Finally, and perhaps most impressive, is Solomons careful placement of the issue and the case in a far broader context that is as critical to national life and policy today as it was four and a half decades ago when the high Court first tackled these questions.Robert ONeil, Professor of Law, University of VirginiaGreat legal decisions often result from the heroic actions of average citizens. Ellerys Protest is the story of how one students objection to mandatory school prayer and Bible reading led to one of the most controversial court cases of the twentieth centuryand a decision that still reverberates in the battle over the role of religion in public life.Abington School District v. Schempp began its journey through the nations courts in 1956, when sixteenyearold Ellery Schempp protested his public schools compulsory prayer and Biblereading period by reading silently from the Koran. Ejected from class for his actions, Schempp sued the school district. The Supreme Courts decision in his favor was one of the most important rulings on religious freedom in our nations history. It prompted a conservative backlash that continues to this day, in the skirmishes over school prayer, the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase under God.Author Stephen D. Solomon tells the fascinating personal and legal drama of the Schempp case: the familys struggle against the ugly reactions of neighbors, and the impassioned courtroom clashes as brilliant lawyers on both sides argued about the meaning of religious freedom. But Schempp was not the only case challenging religious exercises in the schools at the time, and Ellerys Protest describes the race to the Supreme Court among the attorneys for four such cases, including one involving the colorful atheist Madalyn Murray.Solomon also explores the political, cultural, and religious roots of the controversy. Contrary to popular belief, liberal justices did not kick God out of the public schools. Bitter conflict over school Bible reading had long divided Protestants and Catholics in the United States. Eventually, it was the American people themselves who removed most religious exercises from public education as a more religiously diverse nation chose tolerance over sectarianism. Ellerys Protest offers a vivid account of the case that embodied this change, and a reminder that conservative justices of the 1950s and 60s not only signed on to the Schempp decision, but strongly endorsed the separation of church and state.