PDF Faith and the Founders of the American Republic by From Dreisbach Daniel L in History

Description

The role of religion in the founding of America has long been a hotly debated question. Some historians have regarded the views of a few famous founders; such as Benjamin Franklin; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; and Thomas Paine; as evidence that the founders were deists who advocated the strict separation of church and state. Popular Christian polemicists; on the other hand; have attempted to show that virtually all of the founders were pious Christians in favor of public support for religion.As the essays in this volume demonstrate; a diverse array of religious traditions informed the political culture of the American founding. Faith and the Founders of the American Republic includes studies both of minority faiths; such as Islam and Judaism; and of major traditions like Calvinism. It also includes nuanced analysis of specific founders-Quaker fellow-traveler John Dickinson; prominent Baptists Isaac Backus and John Leland; and Theistic Rationalist Gouverneur Morris; among others-with attention to their personal histories; faiths; constitutional philosophies; and views on the relationship between religion and the state.This volume will be a crucial resource for anyone interested in the place of faith in the founding of the American constitutional republic; from political; religious; historical; and legal perspectives.