The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America

"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."--BOOK JACKET.

First sentence: IN 1639, a group of New England Puritans drafted a constitution affirming their faith in God and their intention to organize a Christian Nation.

Year

2003

Language

English

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Editions

2

Pages

344

ISBN

9780691088297

Data source: Wikidata