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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... called on the active intervention of God in the war but also embraced a broad religious tolerance that transformed the Continental army . After the war , Americans , possessed by the spirit of liberty , pressed to ex- pand freedom of ...
... called "the Whore” because it had prostituted itself by selling indulgences (the promise that for a fee, the church would make sure that the soul of a loved one wouldn't be stuck in purgatory). Protestants believed Catholics should be ...
... called " the Whore " because it had prostituted itself by selling indulgences ( the promise that for a fee , the church would make sure that the soul of a loved one wouldn't be stuck in purgatory ) . Protestants believed Catholics ...
... called papists , not Christians , because they had substituted worship of the pope for devotion to Christ . And only the Antichrist , it was thought , would use the trappings of faith to so distort the message of Jesus . Not ...
... called the clergy " Dumme Dogs ... Destroying Drones , or rather Caterpillars of the Word . " 22 Worst of all , the Church of England seemed to let in as a congregant any damned sinner who requested entry . King James found the Puritans ...
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 |