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We Are A Religious People Whose Institutions Presuppose A Supreme Being, John C. Eastman

John C. Eastman

This article challenges the separationist view of the Establishment Clause adopted by the Supreme Court in Everson and other cases, and instead explores Justice Douglas's important contention in Zorach v. Clausen that We are a Religious People Whose Institutions Presuppose a Supreme Being. Drawing on sources from the founding, such as the Declaration of Independence, debates in Congress over the First Amendment, state constitutional provisions, the Northwest Ordinance, and wide-spread practice, the article makes the case for treating the Establishment Clause as a federalism provision, not a rights provision, reserving to the states the authority to partner with religion in …