Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in AmericaThe culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation.” Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or Deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet.com editor in chief Steven Waldman. With refreshing objectivity, Waldman narrates the real story of how our nation’s Founders forged a new approach to religious liberty, a revolutionary formula that promoted faith . . . by leaving it alone. |
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... find a wide variety of views , including some strong advocates of government - supported churches . In the Constitution , the origi- nal intent was , intentionally , murky . Fortunately for our efforts to decipher the Founders ' views ...
... find it easy to live a virtuous Life without the Assistance afforded by Religion .... But think how great a Proportion of Mankind consists of weak and ignorant Men and Women . " And then there were the lascivious youths " who have need ...
... find a path that connected him with the divine while avoiding the parts of organized religion he found repellent . Although he once described himself as a Deist , at other times in his life he embraced the very non - Deistic view that ...
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Contents
18 | |
John Adams | 33 |
George Washington | 56 |
The pious infidel | 72 |
Natures God Meets the Supreme Judge | 86 |
James Madison | 93 |
A Diabolical Persecution | 100 |
The Mighty Current of Freedom | 107 |
Forgetting the Powerful Friend | 127 |
The First Amendment Compromise | 141 |
They Were Right | 188 |
Index | 209 |
207 | 243 |