The founding fathers and the debate over religion in revolutionary America a history in documents

Whether America was founded as a Christian nation or as a secular republic is one of the most fiercely debated questions in American history. Historians Matthew Harris and Thomas Kidd offer an authoritative examination of the essential documents needed to understand this debate. The texts included i...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Harris, Matthew L. (-), Kidd, Thomas S.
Format: Book
Language:Inglés
Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press cop. 2012
Subjects:
See on Universidad de Navarra:https://unika.unav.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991003425399708016&context=L&vid=34UNAV_INST:VU1&search_scope=34UNAV_TODO&tab=34UNAV_TODO&lang=es
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Summary:Whether America was founded as a Christian nation or as a secular republic is one of the most fiercely debated questions in American history. Historians Matthew Harris and Thomas Kidd offer an authoritative examination of the essential documents needed to understand this debate. The texts included in this volume - writings and speeches from both well-known and obscure early American thinkers - show that religion played a prominent yet fractious role in the era of the American Revolution. In their personal beliefs, the Founders ranged from profound skeptics like Thomas Paine to traditional Christians like Patrick Henry. Nevertheless, most of the Founding Fathers rallied around certain crucial religious principles, including the idea that people were "created" equal, the belief that religious freedom required the disestablishment of state-backed denominations, the necessity of virtue in a republic, and the role of Providence in guiding the affairs of nations. Harris and Kidd show that through the struggles of war and the framing of the Constitution, Americans sought to reconcile their dedication to religious vitality with their commitment to religious freedom.
Physical Description:ix, 196 p. ; 22 cm
Bibliography:Incluye referencias bibliográficas (p. 187-192) e índice
ISBN:9780195326505
9780195326499