Frederick Lane Book Eyes Religious Right's Power

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Author Frederick Lane's fourth book, The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right's Crusade to Reshape the Supreme Court, has hit bookshelves. 

The Court and the Cross explores religious conservatives' influence on the nomination and selection of judges on the federal bench over the past 30 years. 

The book ends with a review of various church-state issues previously presented to the U.S. Supreme Court and an analysis of how those issues might be resolved under various presidential scenarios. The implications of increasingly conservative decisions on church-state issues are profound, according to Beacon Press, which published the book. 

"Separation of church and state is so basic a part of American values and history that it is hard to realize it is under threat," author Anthony Lewis wrote on the book's dust jacket. "In The Court and the Cross, Frederick Lane explains why: a relentless, determined and successful campaign by the Christian Right to put its supporters on the federal courts, especially the Supreme Court. It is a colorful and compelling book." 

Lane's previous books are The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture, which led to an appearance on "The Daily Show With John Stewart"; The Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy; and Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Privacy in the Cyber Age

In addition to "The Daily Show," Lane has appeared on television shows such as ABC's "Good Morning America Weekend," NBC's "Weekend Today," ABC's "Nightline," CBS's "60 Minutes" and various BBC documentaries. 

Lane's next book, People in Glass Houses: American Law, Technology, and the Right to Privacy, is scheduled for publication in spring 2009 by Beacon. 

Lane also is a frequent contributor to Beacon Press' blog, The Beacon Broadside.