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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... Revolution . George VVashington Protected by Cod . Holy \Var George Washington uses religious tolerance, and appeals to Cod, to win the War of I ndependence ix 18 =7 33 40 8. 10. 12. 13. 15. 16. 17. Thomas Iefferson The.
... Revolution 6. George Washington 56 Protected by God 7. Holy War George Washington uses religious tolerance , and appeals to God , to win the War of Independence 64 8. Thomas Jefferson The pious infidel 9. Nature's God Meets.
... tolerance that transformed the Continental army . After the war , Americans , possessed by the spirit of liberty , pressed to ex- pand freedom of conscience . But they discovered that they disagreed over what that meant . Clearly , the ...
... tolerance was a practical and military necessity . By one day banning the practice of soldiers burning effigies of the pope and an- other declaring that God was helping them win the war , Washington set what became a classically ...
... tolerance ( though even there , Jews didn't have full rights ) . Williams had urged tolerance even for " popish and Jewish consciences " and , in The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for cause of Conscience , set out concepts that have hard ...
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 |