false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165521926m/5450.jpg 5450 2 <p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p> 8884 2003 The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America total:11|5:3|4:6|3:2| 11 45 15 3 3 0 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Thu Apr 16 20:28:55 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 13:15:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 23 18:44:19 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 13 05:02:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Mar 21 09:09:33 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 21 11:38:36 -0700 2008
Diesm was most p...more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 14:28:29 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 10:28:20 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Aug 18 20:08:18 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 20:08:18 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 28 19:24:08 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 19:24:08 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Mar 11 13:24:37 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 13:24:37 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Feb 21 23:22:47 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 23:22:47 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Jan 25 16:36:32 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 16:36:37 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Dec 26 16:44:43 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 16:44:43 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Dec 10 19:06:56 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 18:26:50 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Mar 30 15:21:01 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 15:21:01 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Mar 13 07:56:01 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 13 07:56:06 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Jan 26 09:11:09 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 09:11:09 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Nov 18 14:45:51 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 14:45:51 -0800 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5450