Founding Faith
Subtitle: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
Publisher: Random House
Published: March 11, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9781400064373
Subjects: Religion And Politics; U.S. History - Revolution And Confederation (1775-1789); Religion; History - U.S.; Religion - Socialissues; History; Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights; United States - General; Religion / General; General; Freedom of religion; United States
Description: The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Author Waldman, cofounder of Beliefnet.com, argues that the United States was not founded as a "Christian nation," nor were the Founding Fathers uniformly secular or Deist. Rather, the Founders forged a new approach to religious liberty, a revolutionary formula that promoted faith--by leaving it alone. His narrative begins with early settlers' stunningly unsuccessful efforts to create a Christian paradise, and concludes with the presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, during which the men who had devised lofty principles regarding the proper relationship between church and state struggled to practice what they'd preached.--From publisher description.