Blasphemy: How the Religious Right is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence
This author, if it needs explaining, is a renowned lawyer and Harvard law professor, author of several best-selling books, and an abiding advocate and defender of personal rights and freedoms. Although he never shies away from taking controversial positions, he supports those stands in clear prose. All these aspects hold true in his new book, which begins boldly: "The Religious Right is engaged in a crusade to convert the United States into a Christian theocracy based on the Bible and, more specifically, on the divine authority of Jesus Christ." Dershowitz accuses the Religious Right of using words and phrases found in the Declaration of Independence as indications that the founding of the nation--the intentions of our Founding Fathers, that is--was based on Christian precepts. The major step he takes in refuting this idea, which he finds dangerous, is to negate the concept that the Declaration, despite such language as "Creator" and "Divine Providence," is a document of equal legal state to the Constitution. The Declaration is indeed a vital document but one for all freedom-loving people who cherish the separation of church and state. This book will prompt intense dialogue--surely the author's intention.Brad HooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved