Separation as a Tradition
77 Pages Posted: 13 Nov 2002
Abstract
Understandings of constitutional commitments obviously change over time, and those changes are typically accounted for in one of two ways, which might be called the "evolving principle" account and the "it's all just politics" account. This paper develops a third, more Burkean account of constitutional change, in which constitutional commitments are understood as rooted in traditions which reflect ethical commitments that are more than mere "politics" but are not reducible to articulable principles. "Tradition" thus challenges and seeks to dissolve standard polarities between "principle" and "politics," "reason" and "custom," "theory" and "practice," and "top-down" versus "bottom-up." The paper then explores the implications of this more tradition-oriented approach to the constitutional commitment to "separation of church and state," arguing that the best judicial expression of a traditionalist perspective occurs in the much maligned religion clause opinions of Chief Justice Warren Burger.
JEL Classification: K10, K19, K40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation