December 18, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC – A new book is now available on the First Amendment Center Online – The Law of Church and State in America, by the late Rev. Dean M. Kelley.

When the Rev. Dean M. Kelley died in 1997, he had completed 20 years of work on his manuscript and found a publisher. However, editing was still in progress at the publisher and as time went on the task of updating developments in church-state law for the book became monumental. The project was canceled.

"The opportunity for online publication rescued a masterpiece from oblivion," write the members of the manuscript committee, who brought Kelley's work to its present form. Lenore Hervey, Kelley's only child and the copyright holder, agreed to provide the work freely for online use. The First Amendment Center agreed to make the work available on its site. The book's chapters are posted as PDFs.

Kelley's book covers a range of topics including autonomy of religious bodies, evangelism and fundraising, religious influence on public policy, religion and schools, and the defense of religious practices.

"As the long-time director of civil and religious liberty at the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Rev. Dean Kelley was one of the most effective advocates for religious freedom of his era," says Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Center. "This monumental work on the law of church and state reflects both his deep knowledge of the issues and his extraordinary ability to provide a lively, informed account of case law central to understanding the relationship between religion and government in America."

The manuscript committee, chaired by Sharon Worthing Vaino, a member of the editorial council of the Journal of Church and State, included Hervey as well as Richard Foltin, American Jewish Committee; Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center; Rev. N. J. (Skip) L'Heureux Jr., Queens Federation of Churches; Wesley (Pat) M. Pattillo, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; and Rev. Charles M. Whelan, Fordham University School of Law.

The full work is available at http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?item=Dean_Kelley_Law_Church_State.

First Amendment Center Online