Founders on God and Government

Daniel L. Dreisbach is professor of justice, law, and society at American University, and author of Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State.Mark David Hall is associate professor of political science at George Fox University, and author of The Political and Legal Philosophy of James Wilson, 1742-1798.Jeffry H. Morrison is currently James Madison Visiting Fellow in the Department of Politics at Princeton University, and associate professor of government at Regent University; he is author of the forthcoming John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic.

This fine book belongs on the small shelf of required books of anyone who wishes to understand the religious roots of our American republic. With careful attention to the massive scholarship bearing on the subject, it concisely and elegantly makes the argument that religion does matter to the Founding, and it explains the scope and central importance of religious liberty for leading actors in that great drama. Incisive, a good read, warmly recommended.

• Chapter 1 Foreword: Religious LibertyChapter 2 PrefaceChapter 3 Religion and The Common Good: George Washington on Church and StateChapter 4 One Public Religion, Many Private Religions: John Adams and the 1780 Massachusetts ConstitutionChapter 5 The Religious Rhetoric of Thomas JeffersonChapter 6 Religion and Politics in the Thought of James MadisonChapter 7 John Witherspoon's Revolutionary ReligionChapter 8 Benjamin Franklin and the Role of Religion in Governing DemocracyChapter 9 James Wilson: Presbyterian, Anglican, Thomist, or Deist? Does it Matter?Chapter 10 George Mason's Pursuit of Religious Liberty in Revolutionary VirginiaChapter 11 Catholic Politics and Religious Liberty in America: The Carrolls of MarylandChapter 12 Afterword: Revolutionary-Era Americans: Were They Enlightened or Protestant? Does it Matter?Part 13 Bibliography