To An Unknown God: Religious Freedom On Trial
To an Unknown God: Religious Freedom on Trialis the story of one of the most important Supreme Court cases of recent years involving religious freedom--the case that resulted in the passage of one of the most sweeping civil rights laws since the 1960s, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Author Garrett Epps writes with the simplicity and suspense of an investigative journalist (he was formerly a reporter forThe Washington Post) and the precision and authority of a legal scholar (he teaches law at the University of Oregon). Both skills are necessary for bringing to life this strange and complicated tale, in which a routine unemployment dispute grew into a showdown regarding the right of Native Americans to worship God with the use of peyote. In addition to the book's deft analysis of the many legal questions the case raises,To an Unknown Goddescribes a cast of memorable and intriguing characters, principal among them Al Smith, a 70-year-old drug-and-alcohol abuse counselor to Native Americans, and Dave Frohnmayer, a Harvard-educated politico who balanced his prosecution of this case with his commitment to caring for three children with a rare bone disease. LikeA Civil Actionand other classics of investigative journalism,To an Unknown Godexamines questions that arise in peculiar circumstances, and frames them with such skill and sensitivity as to make their universal relevance unquestionable.--Michael Joseph Gross