In God We Trust: How the Supreme Court’s First Amendment Decisions Affect Organized Religion - Camp, Kathryn Page. FaithWalk, 2006. 224p. $14.99. ISBN-10: 1-932902-60-0. ISBN-13: 978-1-932902-60-0. 342.7308’52 United States. Constitution. First Amendment. Church and state—United States. Christianity and law. United States—Church history. United States—Religion.

One of the most confusing issues in modern constitutional law is the extent to which the First Amendment protects free- dom of religion and prohibits governmental intrusion into faith. With each new Supreme Court justice appointed to the nation’s highest court in recent years, the First Amendment’s application seems to grow less clear. Muddying the water even further is the frequently inaccurate slant the news media give to newsworthy First Amendment cases.

Kathryn Page Camp’s In God We Trust offers one of the best lawyer-to-layperson explanations available of the history, development, and applicability of the First Amendment to everyday religious life.

Complete with digests of landmark First Amendment cases and a discussion of the framers’ intent behind the amendment’s adoption into the Constitution, In God We Trust distills timely issues such as school prayer, display of religious symbols on public property, and the use of government funds, and property for religious purposes into an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand resource.

In God We Trust is more than simply an interesting read. It also serves as a good resource for guidance when potential legal issues arise from a religious institution’s proposed action. Camp’s new book would be an asset to any congregational library.

Robert Lewis
First United Methodist Church
Martinsville, Virginia