Synopses & Reviews
A primer of essential writings about one of the cornerstones of our democracy
Certain basic issues will always be debated in our country, even without a presidential election at stake. One of the most important of these is the separation of church and state. On this issue, Americans constantly interpret and reinterpret the intentions of Americas founders. Now, they will have a collection of the most eloquent writings of the founders to help them understand the original reasoning behind this separation.
Forrest Church, well-known writer and religious leader, son of former senator Frank Church, has used his considerable knowledge about this subject to bring together these writings for modern readers. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henrythese are just some of the leaders who wrote movingly about the need to separate religion and government. This concise primer will get past the rhetoric that surrounds the current debate and deliver instead specific writings by the original authors of the Constitution.
Edited and introduced by Church, this volume will inform readers about the founders original vision and will stand as a timely reminder of how important this fundamental separation is to our way of life.
Synopsis
Now in paperback, a primer of essential writings about one of the cornerstones of our democracy by the original authors of the Constitution, edited by preeminant liberal theologian Forrest Church.
Americans will never stop debating the question of church-state separation, and such debates invariably lead back to the nation’s beginnings and the founders’ intent. The Separation of Church and State presents a basic collection of the founders’ teachings on this topic. This concise primer gets past the rhetoric that surrounds the current debate, placing the founders’ vivid writings on religious liberty in historical perspective. Edited and with running commentary by Forrest Church, this important collection informs anyone curious about the original blueprint for our country and its government.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
About the Author
All men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.--Thomas Jefferson
"This volume is an indispensable guide to the proper role of religion in the American democracy."--Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
"No longer will the earnest citizen need to rely on second- and third-hand versions of how separation of church and state came about-or what it really means. The Separation of Church and State is an invaluable handbook of primary sources for the perplexed-and the concerned-in today's whirlpool of contrary opinions and strident voices."--Edwin S. Gaustad, author of Proclaim Liberty throughout All the Land: a History of Church and State in America
"This is a splendid reader on the 'church and state' argument from Patrick Henry to Thomas Jefferson. Superbly edited and annotated by Forrest Church, the book offers a helpful guide to the early Republic's struggles with a problem that remains vexing to Americans."--Gary Dorrien, author of The Making of American Liberal Theology