So help me God
Subtitle: presidential faith, pulpit politics, and the first great battle to save America's soul
By: Forrest Church.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Harcourt
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Orlando, Fla
Language: eng
Number of pages: 530
ISBN-13: 9780151011858
Subjects: Christianity and politics -- United States; Church and state -- United States; Presidents -- United States -- Religion; United States -- Church history -- 18th century; United States -- Church history -- 19th century
Description: Today's dispute over the line between church and state (or the lack thereof) is neither the first nor the fiercest in our history. In this retelling of the birth of the American body politic, religious historian Forrest Church describes our first great culture war-a tumultuous yet nearly forgotten conflict that raged from George Washington's presidency to James Monroe's. On one side of the battle, the proponents of order--Federalists, Congregationalists, New Englanders--believed that the only legitimate ruler of men is God. On the other side, the defenders of liberty--republicans, Baptists, Virginians--cheered the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, and believed that only the separation of church and state would preserve man's freedom. Would we be a nation under God, or with liberty for all? In this vigorous history, Church offers a new vision of our earliest presidents' beliefs, reshaping assumptions about the debates that still reverberate across our land.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: George Washington; title: John Adams; title: Thomas Jefferson; title: James Madison; title: James Monroe.