BUIES CREEK, N.C. – As part of Campbell Law Federalist Society’s 2008-09 Speaker Series, Daniel Dreisbach, Professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University, addressed Campbell Law students on the topic of “Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State” on October 21.

 

Dreisbach opened up with three questions: Where did the phrase “Wall of separation” come from, why is this phrase so influential in America, and why should we care about them?

 

“Many people recognize the phrase ‘wall of separation between church and state’ as the constitution, more than they do the actual constitution words,” said Dreisbach.

 

Outlining three famous Supreme Court cases, Dreisbach showed the influence of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in the emphasis of the well-known expression. He also cited how Jefferson pursued policies incompatible with the current understanding of the phrase.

 

“No metaphor in American law has had as much influence as Jefferson’s ‘Wall of separation,’” he explained.

 

“Jefferson’s metaphor emphasizes separation between church and state – unlike the first amendment which speaks in terms of the non-establishment and free exercise of religion,” Dreisbach said. “Jefferson’s wall, as a matter of federalism, was erected between the national government and state governments on matters pertaining to religion.”

 

My last point is, I think, an uncomfortable point,” Dreisbach said. “We must confront the uncomfortable fact that for much of American history has been used not for separation, but for establishmentarianism.”

 

In closing, Dreisbach quoted Justice Benjamin Cardozo in saying, “Metaphors in law are to be narrowly watched, for starting as devices to liberate thought, they end often by enslaving it.”

 

About Dreisbach: Daniel Dreisbach is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He has previously served as a judicial clerk for a justice on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and as a public interest lawyer specializing in civil and religious liberties. He has been published in, among others, American Journal of Legal History, Constitutional Commentary, and Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia, his Ph.D. from Oxford University, and his B.A. from the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg.

 

About the Campbell Law Federalist Society: The Federalist Society is a non-partisan organization dedicated to the core beliefs of the Founding Fathers – the state exists to preserve freedom, the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and it is the providence and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be – that seeks to both promote awareness of these beliefs and to further their application through its activities. Events include debates, guest speakers and a trip to the Supreme Court.

 

About Campbell Law School: Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others and create a more just society. The School has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. In 2008, the Law School’s Moot Court Program was ranked in the top ten nationally by the University of Houston’s Blakely Advocacy Institute among 196 ABA accredited law schools. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,000 alumni, including 2,000 who reside and work in North Carolina. For the past 20 years, Campbell Law’s record of success on the North Carolina bar exam is unsurpassed by any other North Carolina law school. In the fall of 2009, Campbell Law School will relocate from the main Campbell University campus to a new location in downtown Raleigh.