No phrase in American letters has had a more profound influence on church-state law; policy; and discourse than Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation between church and state;†and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced in an 1802 letter to the Danbury; Connecticut Baptist Association; Jefferson’s “wall†is accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution’s church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law. Despite the enormous influence of the “wall†metaphor; almost no scholarship has investigated the text of the Danbury letter; the context in which it was written; or Jefferson’s understanding of his famous phrase. Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State offers an in-depth examination of the origins; controversial uses; and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy.
#1562570 in Books Wayne State University Press 2000-09-01 2000-09-01Original language:GermanPDF # 1 9.00 x .70 x 6.00l; .83 #File Name: 0814329209280 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. readBy CustomerGood read. Detailed description of women's camp from the point of view of a German woman. Really shows another side of the war.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy SiskaThis book gives a startling view of life in Nazi Germany.22 of 22 people found the following review helpful. A Different PerspectiveBy KatherineWhat do you think of whenever you hear the word; "Holocaust?" If you are like me; you think of German concentration camps and the Jews. It came as a complete surprise to me that Roman Catholic Aryan German could land in one of their "own"camps. This is exactly what happened to Nanda Herbermann; a German living in Munster. As an editor and writer for The Grail; her parish publication; Herbermann and parish priest; Father Muckermann; were part of the German; Catholic resistance to the Nazis. For this; Muckermann was forced to flee Germany; Herbermann was eventually arrested by the Gestapo and incarcerated at Ravensbruck; a concentration camp for women. In her own words; penned in "The Blessed Abyss; Inmate #6582 in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp for Women;" we receive from Herbermann a detailed account of the horrors of her daily life; but from a very different perspective than Jewish accounts. Here is a woman who was brought up as an Aryan; with Aryan views; who slowly softens and revises her attitude toward Jews; lesbians; prostitutes and all other minorities imprisoned in Ravensbruck as she is thrown in among them and faced with the realities of their mutual hardships. Her incredulity that this is happening to her; that these atrocities are committed by her beloved; fellow Germans is a crushing blow. It is truly her faith that carries her through these daily "stations of the cross." This compelling reading is enhanced by Hester and Elizabeth Baer's meticulously written Preface and Introduction. Here she provides the reader with a detailed history of the Catholic Church's involvement with the Nazis; Herbermann's life and family; and a provocative discussion of women and the Holocaust. This is truly eye-opening; ground breaking reading that I consider imperative to any scholar of the Holocaust or someone who wants to read "the rest of the story."
