Religion and Political Culture in Jefferson's Virginia examines the influential statesmen and the political struggles in revolutionary Virginia that played a decisive role in developing a distinctive American approach to religious liberty and church-state relations. This collection of innovative essays by leading scholars profiles the Christian communities in Virginia, analyzes the religious philosophical influences of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and discusses the Virginian contributions to the American experiment in religious liberty. Religion and Political Culture in Jefferson's Virginia presents a fresh perspective on religion's role in Virginian and American political culture and provides a critical reassessment of the existing scholarship in the field.

The First Amendment is categorical and concise on religion and the state: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Nevertheless, these few words have caused much confusion and controversy for successive generations. The debate over religious freedom has often come to the forefront during American history. Since colonial times, Americans have debated how to interpret and apply the First Amendment. Through biographical histories of individuals involved in the freedom of religion debates, readers will discover how individuals' thoughts, beliefs, and actions affected how the religion clauses are viewed today and throughout American history. Topics such as prayer in schools, religious symbols, exemption from military duty, and the pledge of allegience are addressed. Individuals such as Anne Hutchinson, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Roger Williams are included. An introductory essay, an appendix of shorter entries on additional figures, and a bibliography are also included.

In Politics, Taxes, and the Pulpit, Nina J. Crimm and Laurence H. Winer examine the provocative mix of religion, politics, and taxes involved in the controversy over houses of worship engaging in electoral political speech. The authors analyze the dilemmas associated with federal tax subsidies benefiting nonprofit houses of worship conditioned on their refraining from political campaign speech. The Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision invalidating federal campaign finance restrictions on corporations' political campaign speech makes the remaining, analogous restrictive tax laws constraining many nonprofit entities all the more singular and problematic, particularly for houses of worship. Crimm and Winer explore the multifaceted constitutional tensions arising from this legal structure and implicating all fundamental values embodied in the First Amendment: free speech and free press, the free exercise of religion, and the avoidance of government establishment of religion. They also examine the history and economics of taxation of houses of worship. The authors conclude that there exists no means of fully resolving the irreconcilable clashes in a constitutionally permissible and politically and socially palatable manner. Nonetheless, Crimm and Winer offer several feasible legislative proposals for reforming tax provisions that likely will generate considerable debate. If Congress adopts the proposed reforms, however, the revised system should substantially ameliorate the disquieting constitutional tensions induced by the current tax laws and curb the growing emotionally charged atmosphere about the role of religion in the public sphere.

The author of The American Creed tells “the story of our nation’s historical encounters with God and culture” (Peter J. Gomes, New York Times bestselling author). Today’s dispute over the line between church and state (or the lack thereof) is neither the first nor the fiercest in our history. In a revelatory look at our nation’s birth, Forrest Church recreates our first great culture war—a tumultuous, nearly forgotten conflict that raged from George Washington’s presidency to James Monroe’s. Religion was the most divisive issue in the nation’s early presidential elections. Battles raged over numerous issues while the bible and the Declaration of Independence competed for American affections. The religious political wars reached a vicious peak during the War of 1812; the American victory drove New England’s Christian right to withdraw from electoral politics, thereby shaping our modern sense of church-state separation. No longer entangled, both church and state flourished. Forrest Church has written a rich, page-turning history, a new vision of our earliest presidents’ beliefs that stands as a reminder and a warning for America today. “An illuminating study of the great tangle of our time. If we look back to our early years, we may well find a way forward.” —Jon Meacham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of His Truth is Marching On “In this beautifully crafted and timely work, the aptly named Church takes us through the complex thoughts and actions of the nation’s founders in a way that will give pause to most readers . . . This is an important work that delights and informs.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The Founders understood religious liberty to be an inalienable natural right. Vincent Phillip Muñoz explains what this means for church-state constitutional law, uncovering what we can and cannot determine about the original meanings of the First Amendment's Religion Clauses and constructing a natural rights jurisprudence of religious liberty."--

Displacing Jesus studies the inner workings of Thomas Jefferson’s editing and shortening of the Gospels of the New Testament, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. It uncovers the immanent moves of his editorial project and shows how he makes judgments on what to include and exclude from the Gospels. As the book analyzes Jefferson’s gospel, it reconstructs his cut-and-paste project as a displacing of the biblical story of Jesus into a war on Jewish authorities. Ignoring nearly all traditional religious themes, the new gospel reframes the story into a battle against the narrow and hypocritical morality of the leaders of Second Temple Judaism. Surprisingly, Jefferson’s editing does provide a robust, if not traditional, theology and a Christology centered in the passion of the Shepherd-Sage who performs his death for Wisdom. Displacing Jesus ends by connecting Jefferson’s creation in The Life and Morals with theological themes, with the history of his views on religion, and with comments on how new insights into Jefferson’s gospel can inform contemporary Jefferson research.

A religious historian argues that historical revisionism has distorted the religious views of Thomas Jefferson, making him appear far more skeptical than he was. Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers intended a strict separation of church and state, right? He would have been very upset to find out about a child praying in a public school or a government building used for religious purposes, correct? Actually, the history on this has been very distorted. The standard accepted story on the faith of Thomas Jefferson (or the lack thereof) is not accurate. While he did harbor some doubts about orthodox Christianity by the end of his life, he was actually quite active in supporting the church in America. Meanwhile, in his name today, because of a misunderstanding about “the separation of church and state” (a phrase that comes from an obscure letter he wrote), religious expression is being curtailed all over the place in modern America. And he would absolutely object to that, as seen in his own actions and writings. While Jefferson may seem to be the patron saint of the ACLU, his words and actions showed that he would totally disagree with the idea of driving God out of the public square. Doubting Thomas documents that. In short, it’s time to set the record straight.

Demonstrates how the activists who mobilized the Age of Atlantic Revolutions' greatest social movements worked together across nations.

The First Encyclopedia available On The Subject Of Religion And American Law The interplay of religion and law has long been a major political and social issue in the United States. From the Salem Witch Trials to the current debate over school vouchers, court rulings have had a profound effect on people's lives. Now, a new encyclopedia provides detailed entries on all of the major Supreme Court decisions dealing with church and state, topical and theoretical essays relating to the issue, and cogent biographies of those Justices whose decisions have achieved landmark status in the debate. Comprehensive In Coverage And Scope Encompassing cases from the colonial period to the Supreme Court's important decisions in 1997, this pioneering volume is written in a clear, concise style that will be useful to professionals and specialists and accessible by students. With contributions by leading scholars in the field, this encyclopedia will benefit all reference libraries, students of law and religion, and anyone working in the field of church and state.

A sweeping reexamination of the Founding Father who transformed the United States in each of his political “lives”—as a revolutionary thinker, partisan political strategist, and president “In order to understand America and its Constitution, it is necessary to understand James Madison.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician he co-founded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning. Now Noah Feldman offers an intriguing portrait of this elusive genius and the constitutional republic he created—and how both evolved to meet unforeseen challenges. Madison hoped to eradicate partisanship yet found himself giving voice to, and institutionalizing, the political divide. Madison’s lifelong loyalty to Thomas Jefferson led to an irrevocable break with George Washington, hero of the American Revolution. Madison closely collaborated with Alexander Hamilton on the Federalist papers—yet their different visions for the United States left them enemies. Alliances defined Madison, too. The vivacious Dolley Madison used her social and political talents to win her husband new supporters in Washington—and define the diplomatic customs of the capital’s society. Madison’s relationship with James Monroe, a mixture of friendship and rivalry, shaped his presidency and the outcome of the War of 1812. We may be more familiar with other Founding Fathers, but the United States today is in many ways Madisonian in nature. Madison predicted that foreign threats would justify the curtailment of civil liberties. He feared economic inequality and the power of financial markets over politics, believing that government by the people demanded resistance to wealth. Madison was the first Founding Father to recognize the importance of public opinion, and the first to understand that the media could function as a safeguard to liberty. The Three Lives of James Madison is an illuminating biography of the man whose creativity and tenacity gave us America’s distinctive form of government. His collaborations, struggles, and contradictions define the United States to this day.