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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... Massachusetts . It might seem perplexing that religious leaders would be paying tribute to Jefferson , who just a year earlier had been attacked as an infidel and atheist . John Adams's campaign operatives during the 1800 presidential ...
... MASSACHUSETTS While religion was a factor in Jamestown , it was the impetus for Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth and the Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay . Again , the motivation was not promotion of Christianity in general but ...
... Massachusetts minister John Cot- ton - the freedom to practice their religion precisely- " not of some ordi- nances of God , but of all , and in all purity . " " It was with tongue not in cheek that Richard Mather explained his motives ...
... Massachusetts viewed church and state as fully entwined - a " Holy Commonwealth . ” " Theocracy , or to make the Lord God our governor , is the best form of gov- ernment in a Christian commonwealth , " wrote John Cotton . If it seems ...
... Massachusetts General Court rejected his request , and had him arrested for good measure . " Of course , Catholics were not allowed . ( Since the Puritans tried to embody the compassion of Jesus , they did allow that any " Jesuits " who ...
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 |