Download or read book The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America written by Frank Lambert and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-28 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did the United States, founded as colonies with explicitly religious aspirations, come to be the first modern state whose commitment to the separation of church and state was reflected in its constitution? Frank Lambert explains why this happened, offering in the process a synthesis of American history from the first British arrivals through Thomas Jefferson's controversial presidency. Lambert recognizes that two sets of spiritual fathers defined the place of religion in early America: what Lambert calls the Planting Fathers, who brought Old World ideas and dreams of building a "City upon a Hill," and the Founding Fathers, who determined the constitutional arrangement of religion in the new republic. While the former proselytized the "one true faith," the latter emphasized religious freedom over religious purity. Lambert locates this shift in the mid-eighteenth century. In the wake of evangelical revival, immigration by new dissenters, and population expansion, there emerged a marketplace of religion characterized by sectarian competition, pluralism, and widened choice. During the American Revolution, dissenters found sympathetic lawmakers who favored separating church and state, and the free marketplace of religion gained legal status as the Founders began the daunting task of uniting thirteen disparate colonies. To avoid discord in an increasingly pluralistic and contentious society, the Founders left the religious arena free of government intervention save for the guarantee of free exercise for all. Religious people and groups were also free to seek political influence, ensuring that religion's place in America would always be a contested one, but never a state-regulated one. An engaging and highly readable account of early American history, this book shows how religious freedom came to be recognized not merely as toleration of dissent but as a natural right to be enjoyed by all Americans.
Download or read book The Relation of Religion to Civil Government in the United States of America written by Isaac Amada Cornelison and published by . This book was released on 1895 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Rituals in Early Christianity written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-10-12 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Informed by the paradigmatic shift in ritual and liturgical studies, this volume offers analyses of key ritual traditions in early Christianity. The case studies focus on the dynamic formation and transformation of rituals in the context of Greco-Roman religion, Judaism, and Islam.
Download or read book Religion and Politics in the United States written by Kenneth D. Wald and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion and Politics in the United States, Fifth Edition, offers a comprehensive account of the role of religious ideas, institutions, and communities in American public life.
Download or read book Religion and Politics in the United States written by Kenneth D. Wald and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From marriage equality, to gun control, to immigration reform and the threat of war, religion plays a fascinating and crucial part in our nation's political process and in our culture at large. Now in its seventh edition, Religion and Politics in the United States includes analyses of the nation's most pressing political matters regarding religious freedom, and the ways in which that essential constitutional freedom situates itself within modern America. The book also explores the ways that religion has affected the orientation of partisan politics in the United States. Through a detailed review of the political attitudes and behaviors of major religious and minority faith traditions, the book establishes that religion continues to be a major part of the American cultural and political milieu while explaining that it must interact with many other factors to influence political outcomes in the United States.
Download or read book The Place of Religion in the Government of the United States written by Tina Marie Koltz and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question of whether or not the United States was founded as a "Christian Nation" continues to be at the heart of modern debates attempting to find a definitive answer. Evidence of the Founding Fathers' use of biblical language and the existence of colonial established churches contradict the other side of the argument that claims the Founding Fathers to be Enlightenment thinkers, Deists, or non-religious. The importance of religion at the founding of the nation is a contradictory truth and the lines of history are blurred in contemporary discourse. This thesis attempts to answer the question regarding the role of religion at the birth of the nation. It traces the settlement of colonial America and its promotion of a Christian Commonwealth to the disestablishment of religion in the United States Constitution. Examination of these settlements and an explanation of the impact of millennialism demonstrate the roots of religion in the New World. Two major events significantly change religion's role as it existed in colonial America. The Great Awakening had tremendous religious influence with an increase in millennial beliefs and the American Revolution provided the catalyst for religious change with ideas of freedom and liberty. By the time of the Constitutional Convention, a new idea emerged that changed the debates about religion from religious tolerance to religious freedom. A discussion of select Founding Fathers and important clergy explains the varying views on religion and freedom of conscience. This thesis argues that religious freedom is one of the most important characteristics of American democracy and that there is no definitive answer to the role religion played at the birth of the nation. The idea of religious freedom put forth by the Founding Fathers changes the scope of the question. The place of religion in the new government was affected by millennial tradition, the Great Awakening, and the American Revolution. The men who came together to debate the place of religion in the government of the new republic were men of different faiths with varying definitions of religious freedom. The end result was a document that disestablished religion within a highly religious society.
Download or read book Religion in American Politics written by Frank Lambert and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-01 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention blocked the establishment of Christianity as a national religion. But they could not keep religion out of American politics. From the election of 1800, when Federalist clergymen charged that deist Thomas Jefferson was unfit to lead a "Christian nation," to today, when some Democrats want to embrace the so-called Religious Left in order to compete with the Republicans and the Religious Right, religion has always been part of American politics. In Religion in American Politics, Frank Lambert tells the fascinating story of the uneasy relations between religion and politics from the founding to the twenty-first century. Lambert examines how antebellum Protestant unity was challenged by sectionalism as both North and South invoked religious justification; how Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" competed with the anticapitalist "Social Gospel" during postwar industrialization; how the civil rights movement was perhaps the most effective religious intervention in politics in American history; and how the alliance between the Republican Party and the Religious Right has, in many ways, realized the founders' fears of religious-political electoral coalitions. In these and other cases, Lambert shows that religion became sectarian and partisan whenever it entered the political fray, and that religious agendas have always mixed with nonreligious ones. Religion in American Politics brings rare historical perspective and insight to a subject that was just as important--and controversial--in 1776 as it is today.
Download or read book Divided by God written by Noah Feldman and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2007-05-15 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brilliant and urgent appraisal of one of the most profound conflicts of our time Even before George W. Bush gained reelection by wooing religiously devout "values voters," it was clear that church-state matters in the United States had reached a crisis. With Divided by God, Noah Feldman shows that the crisis is as old as this country--and looks to our nation's past to show how it might be resolved. Today more than ever, ours is a religiously diverse society: Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist as well as Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish. And yet more than ever, committed Christians are making themselves felt in politics and culture. What are the implications of this paradox? To answer this question, Feldman makes clear that again and again in our nation's history diversity has forced us to redraw the lines in the church-state divide. In vivid, dramatic chapters, he describes how we as a people have resolved conflicts over the Bible, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the teaching of evolution through appeals to shared values of liberty, equality, and freedom of conscience. And he proposes a brilliant solution to our current crisis, one that honors our religious diversity while respecting the long-held conviction that religion and state should not mix. Divided by God speaks to the headlines, even as it tells the story of a long-running conflict that has made the American people who we are.
Download or read book Politics and Religion In The United States written by Michael Corbett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text examines the interaction between politics and religion in the United States from the days of the early colonial period through the 1990s. It sets the contemporary discussion of politics and religion in the larger context of the entire scope of US history, and traces significant themes over time showing students how the events of the 1990s have their roots in a long process of development.
Download or read book The Relation of Religion to Civil Government in the United States of America written by Isaac A. Cornelison and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Politics and Religion in the United States written by Michael Corbett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-11 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a complex relationship between religiosity and secularism in the American experience. America is notable both for its strict institutional separation of church and state, and for the strong role that religion has played in its major social movements and ongoing political life. This book seeks to illuminate for readers the dynamics underlying this seeming paradox, and to examine how the various religious groups in America have approached and continue to approach the tensions between sacred and secular. This much-anticipated revision brings Corbett and Corbett’s classic text fully up to date. The second edition continues with a thorough discussion of historical origins of religion in political life, constitutional matters, public opinion, and the most relevant groups, all while taking theology seriously. Revisions include fully updating all the public opinion data, fuller incorporation of voting behavior among different religious and demographic groups, enhanced discussion of minority religions such as Mormonism and Islam, and new examples throughout.
Download or read book Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy written by Robert Wuthnow and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the actions and advocacy of diverse religious communities in the United States have supported democracy’s development during the past century Does religion benefit democracy? Robert Wuthnow says yes. In Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy, Wuthnow makes his case by moving beyond the focus on unifying values or narratives about culture wars and elections. Rather, he demonstrates that the beneficial contributions of religion are best understood through the lens of religious diversity. The religious composition of the United States comprises many groups, organizations, and individuals that vigorously, and sometimes aggressively, contend for what they believe to be good and true. Unwelcome as this contention can be, it is rarely extremist, violent, or autocratic. Instead, it brings alternative and innovative perspectives to the table, forcing debates about what it means to be a democracy. Wuthnow shows how American religious diversity works by closely investigating religious advocacy spanning the past century: during the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the debates about welfare reform, the recent struggles for immigrant rights and economic equality, and responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The engagement of religious groups in advocacy and counteradvocacy has sharpened arguments about authoritarianism, liberty of conscience, freedom of assembly, human dignity, citizens’ rights, equality, and public health. Wuthnow hones in on key principles of democratic governance and provides a hopeful yet realistic appraisal of what religion can and cannot achieve. At a time when many observers believe American democracy to be in dire need of revitalization, Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy illustrates how religious groups have contributed to this end and how they might continue to do so despite the many challenges faced by the nation.
Download or read book The Political Role Of Religion In The United States written by Stephen D Johnson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-11 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The political importance of Christian churches in the 1 980s is the focus of this wide-ranging book of readings. Contributors begin by placing the current involvement of religious groups in politics in historical perspective and then analyze the politics and ideologies of both the religious right and religious left. They al30 explore specific issues, including the separation of church and state, the impact of religious interest groups on public policy, religion and abortion, and feminist theological views.
Download or read book The Relation of Religion to Civil Government in the United States of America written by Isaac Amada Cornelison and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Isaac Amada Cornelison examines the complex relationship between religion and civil government in the United States. He argues that while America is a state without an established church, it is not without a religion. Cornelison explores the ways in which religious values and beliefs have shaped American society and politics, and calls for a more nuanced understanding of the role of religion in public life. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in American politics or religious studies. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book Separation of Church and State written by Philip HAMBURGER and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a powerful challenge to conventional wisdom, Philip Hamburger argues that the separation of church and state has no historical foundation in the First Amendment. The detailed evidence assembled here shows that eighteenth-century Americans almost never invoked this principle. Although Thomas Jefferson and others retrospectively claimed that the First Amendment separated church and state, separation became part of American constitutional law only much later. Hamburger shows that separation became a constitutional freedom largely through fear and prejudice. Jefferson supported separation out of hostility to the Federalist clergy of New England. Nativist Protestants (ranging from nineteenth-century Know Nothings to twentieth-century members of the K.K.K.) adopted the principle of separation to restrict the role of Catholics in public life. Gradually, these Protestants were joined by theologically liberal, anti-Christian secularists, who hoped that separation would limit Christianity and all other distinct religions. Eventually, a wide range of men and women called for separation. Almost all of these Americans feared ecclesiastical authority, particularly that of the Catholic Church, and, in response to their fears, they increasingly perceived religious liberty to require a separation of church from state. American religious liberty was thus redefined and even transformed. In the process, the First Amendment was often used as an instrument of intolerance and discrimination.
Download or read book Secular Government Religious People written by Ira C. Lupu and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-02 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book Ira Lupu and Robert Tuttle break through the unproductive American debate over competing religious rights. They present an original theory that makes the secular character of the American government, rather than a set of individual rights, the centerpiece of religious liberty in the United States. Through a comprehensive treatment of relevant constitutional themes and through their attention to both historical concerns and contemporary controversies — including issues often in the news — Lupu and Tuttle define and defend the secular character of U.S. government.
Download or read book Religion and the Founding of the American Republic written by James H. Hutson and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A balanced and lively look at the role of religion between colonization and the 1840s.
