Download or read book The Religion Clauses of the First Amendment written by Ellis M. West and published by . This book was released on 2013-05-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Were the religion clauses of the First Amendment intended to protect individuals' right to religious freedom and equality or the states' traditional right to legislate on religion? This book examines all the arguments and historical evidence relating to this question, and demonstrates, contrary to the views of some scholars and Supreme Court justices, that the clauses were sought, drafted, and originally understood not as guarantees of states' rights but as normative restraints on the national government's power over religion.