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. |
From inside the book
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... Christ would return and usher in a glorious new Kingdom - if certain prophecies were fulfilled before then . Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492 was one such event , he wrote later , a clear " fulfillment of what Isaiah had ...
... Christ . And only the Antichrist , it was thought , would use the trappings of faith to so distort the message of Jesus . Not surprisingly , the Virginia govern- ment attempted to squelch Catholicism within the colony . In 1640 , it ...
... Christ would come again ; if they failed , " allowing heresy to spread , " God would " punish them just as he had the Is- raelites of the Old Testament . " 7748 Second , this inquisition wasn't driven merely by a few village zealots ...
... Christ . Most defined Christianity as being Protestantism , and most discriminated blatantly against Catholics and Jews . Beyond that , there were important differences . The New England colonies - Massachusetts , Connecticut , New ...
... Christ shall from henceforth be in any ways troubled , molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her re- ligion .... " The lofty spirit of tolerance faded from the document in the penalty section , which prescribed capital ...
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 |
Other editions - View all
Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to ... Steven Waldman No preview available - 2009 |
Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to ... Steven Waldman No preview available - 2009 |