A historian and ordained Episcopal priest offers everything you need to know for shaping and defending your own beliefs on the role of religion in American life
Filled with stories from America's struggle for religious freedom most readers have never heard before and perfect for fans of Jesus and John Wayne and On Tyranny
The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution codified the principle that government should play no role in favoring or supporting any religion, while allowing free exercise of all religions (including unbelief). More than 200 years later, the results from this experiment are overwhelming: The separation of church and state has shielded the government from religious factionalism, and the United States boasts a diverse religious culture unmatched in the world.
But changes have been taking place at an accelerating pace in recent years. The current Supreme Court has shifted away from excluding the influence and practice of religion at public institutions and in our laws and policies, and moved dramatically toward protecting the inclusion and promotion of religion in publicly funded undertakings.
Moreover, adherents to a Christian Nationalism ideology have grown more vocal and emboldened, and are increasingly moving into positions of power.
Randall Balmer, one of the premier historians of religion in America, reviews both the history of the separation of church and state and various attempts to undermine that wall. Despite the fact that the 1st Amendment and the separation of church and state has served the nation remarkably well, he argues, its future is by no means assured.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
C O N T E N T S
Preface
1. Transatlantic Visionaries
2. The Flushing Remonstrance, William Livingston, and King’ s College
3. Forging the First Amendment
4. George Washington and Divine Providence
5. John Adams and the Treaty of Tripoli
6. James Madison and the Baptists
7. Thomas Jefferson, the First Amendment, and the Mammoth Cheese
8. Disestablishment in Connecticut
9. Designating the United States as a “ Christian Nation”
10. School Wars and the Blaine Amendments
11. Mormons and the “ Divine Origins” of the Constitution
12. The Johnson Amendment and the First Amendment
13. John F. Kennedy and School Prayer
14. “ Soul Liberty, ” Roy’ s Rock, and the Need for More Baptists
15. The Battle Cry of “ Religious Freedom”
16. The Case Against Christian Nationalism
Afterword
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
About the Author
