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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... tion over others . The Founding Fathers were mostly rebelling against the religious tyranny . in Europe . Actually , they were rebelling as much against the religious tyranny they saw among their colonial neighbors . The Founding ...
... tion . Eight settlers were put to death in Jamestown for violations of Dale's laws . Though alien to us , the idea behind forced worship was practical : Per- vasive worship would secure God's favor and give settlers the strength and ...
... tion . Thomas Shepard , the pastor of the church in Cambridge , Massachu- setts , explained that " if we could be so Eagle - eyed , as to discern them now that are hypocrites , we should exclude them now . " Why ? Because " one man or ...
... tion of the Quakers but , for several reasons , are still worth a quick review . The episode began when some local girls accused an Indian slave , Tituba , of cast- ing spells . The girls said some of the townspeople were witches whose ...
... tion that " God governs in the affairs of men . " Acknowledgments of God's power were routinely inserted in his letters as subordinate clauses , as in , " if it please God that I live long enough " or " thanks to God , who has preserved ...
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 |
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Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to ... Steven Waldman No preview available - 2009 |