Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Were America's Founders Christians or deists? Conservatives and secularists have taken each position respectively, mustering evidence to insist just how tall the wall separating church and state should be. Now Gregg Frazer puts their arguments to rest in the first comprehensive analysis of the Founders' beliefs as they themselves expressed them -- showing that today's political right and left are both wrong. Going beyond church attendance or public pronouncements made for political ends, Frazer scrutinizes the Founders' candid declarations regarding religion found in their private writings. Distilling decades of research, he contends that these men were neither Christian nor deist but rather adherents of a system he labels "theistic rationalism," a hybrid belief system that combined elements of natural religion, Protestantism, and reason -- with reason the decisive element. Frazer explains how this theological middle ground developed, what its core beliefs were, and how they were reflected in the thought of eight Founders: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington. He argues convincingly that Congregationalist Adams is the clearest example of theistic rationalism; that presumed deists Jefferson and Franklin are less secular than supposed; and that even the famously taciturn Washington adheres to this theology. He also shows that the Founders held genuinely religious beliefs that aligned with morality, republican government, natural rights, science, and progress. Frazer's careful explication helps readers better understand the case for revolutionary recruitment, the religious references in the Declaration of Independence, and the religious elements -- and lack thereof -- in the Constitution. He also reveals how influential clergymen, backing their theology of theistic rationalism with reinterpreted Scripture, preached and published liberal democratic theory to justify rebellion. - Publisher.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Previews available in: English
Showing 7 featured editions. View all 7 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
Religious Beliefs of America's Founders: Reason, Revelation, and Revolution
2014, University Press of Kansas
in English
0700620621 9780700620623
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
Religious Beliefs of America's Founders
2014, University Press of Kansas
in English
1336196882 9781336196889
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
3
The religious beliefs of America's founders: reason, revelation, and revolution
2014, University Press of Kansas
in English
0700620214 9780700620210
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
4
The religious beliefs of America's founders: reason, revelation, and revolution
2014, University Press of Kansas
in English
0700620214 9780700620210
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
5
The religious beliefs of America's founders: reason, revelation, and revolution
2014, University Press of Kansas
in English
0700620214 9780700620210
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
6
The religious beliefs of America's founders: reason, revelation, and revolution
2014, University Press of Kansas
in English
0700620214 9780700620210
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
7
The religious beliefs of America's founders: reason, revelation, and revolution
2012, University Press of Kansas
in English
0700618457 9780700618453
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Library of Congress MARC recordLibrary of Congress MARC record
Internet Archive item record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
marc_claremont_school_theology MARC record
Library of Congress MARC record
marc_claremont_school_theology MARC record
harvard_bibliographic_metadata record
Better World Books record
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created March 23, 2012
- 11 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
June 17, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
December 13, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
March 3, 2021 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
October 17, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
March 23, 2012 | Created by LC Bot | Imported from Library of Congress MARC record |