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This interdisciplinary volume brings together essays on eleven of the founders of the American republic—Abigail Adams, Samuel Adams, Oliver Ellsworth, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Thomas Paine, Edmund Randolph, Benjamin Rush, Roger Sherman, and Mercy Otis Warren—many of whom are either little recognized today or little appreciated for their contributions.
The essays focus on the thinking of these men and women on the proper role of religion in public life, including but not limited to the question of the separation of church and state. Their views represent a wide range of opinions, from complete isolation of church and state to tax-supported clergy. These essays present a textured and nuanced view of the society that came to a consensus on how religion would fit in the public life of the new nation. They reveal that religion was more important in the lives and thinking of many of the founders than is often portrayed and that it took the interplay of disparate and contrasting views to frame the constitutional outline that eventually emerged.
“This edited volume of thirteen essays provides brief, well-written insights into the religious beliefs and attitudes of several Americans who played prominent roles in the founding of the United States. Its primary accomplishment is its reiteration of the broad range of religious perspectives that existed in the country at the time of its founding. The book will be of interest to general readers as well as to historians who may have been more inclined to focus on other aspects of the lives of its subjects.” —Journal of Church and State
Jeffry H. Morrison is associate professor of government at Regent University.