James Hutson is the Chief of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. He received his Ph.D from Yale University and has published many well-known works on the Founding Era.

These penetrating, richly documented, and well-argued essays not only challenge conventional interpretations about church and state in early American history but also bring to light provocative themes and topics long overlooked—and refreshingly relevant to today's debates about the relationship of religion and politics.

• Chapter 1 "A Future State of Rewards and Punishments:" The Founders' Formula for the Social and Political Utility of ReligionChapter 2 "Nursing Fathers:" The Model of Church-State Relations in American from James I to JeffersonChapter 3 Rights as Moral Powers: The Founders and the French ConnectionChapter 4 The Christian Nation QuestionChapter 5 William Penn and the American Tradition of Religious LibertyChapter 6 James Madison and Religion: Radicalism Unbound

James Hutson is the Chief of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. He received his Ph.D from Yale University and has published many well-known works on the Founding Era.

These penetrating, richly documented, and well-argued essays not only challenge conventional interpretations about church and state in early American history but also bring to light provocative themes and topics long overlooked—and refreshingly relevant to today's debates about the relationship of religion and politics.

• Chapter 1 "A Future State of Rewards and Punishments:" The Founders' Formula for the Social and Political Utility of ReligionChapter 2 "Nursing Fathers:" The Model of Church-State Relations in American from James I to JeffersonChapter 3 Rights as Moral Powers: The Founders and the French ConnectionChapter 4 The Christian Nation QuestionChapter 5 William Penn and the American Tradition of Religious LibertyChapter 6 James Madison and Religion: Radicalism Unbound