Description
Book SynopsisA collection of quotations on various things from the relationship between church and state to the status of women. It lays out the positions of the founders of America on more than seventy topics, including the afterlife, the death of loved ones, the raising of children, the reliability of biblical texts, and the nature of Islam and Judaism.
Trade Review"Seeking to let the Founders speak for themselves on religion, James Hutson has succeeded in producing a book of quotations that is not agenda driven and duly satisfies the canons of historical scholarship."--Terry Eastland, Books & Arts "[James H.] Hutson offers quotes on religion not only from Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other famous Founding Fathers but also from less well known figures, like Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress, and the Founding Mothers Abigail Adams and Martha Washington...This well-rounded selection of quotes provides fascinating reading material good for discussion."--C. Robert Nixon, Library Journal "James Hutson comes at this project from a different perspective than most... Dr. Hutson is a historian and tries hard to be fair. He organizes the material by subject rather than by author. The strength of his decision is that it underscores the depth and breadth of the Founders' religious interests... This is a most interesting book!"--Jeff Zell, Dallas Morning News "The book ... represents, with great balance, the Founders' differing religious viewpoints... All in all, this is the most balanced collection of quotations representing the Founders' religious views published thus far."--Jonathan Rowe, First Things "[James H. Hutson is] a scholar friendly to religion--one who shows little bias in his writings and in his current work. Thus since the Founders differed so much from each other, Hutson offers some conflicting and contradictory comments by these leaders."--Martin E. Marty, The Christian Post "The Founders on Religion might go a long way toward settling disputes...[Hutson] takes us straight to the sources, with some surprising results. In easy-to-reference form, he shows the founders loved their country but were quite capable of thinking outside the pew."--Susan Campbell, The Hartford Courant "In easy-to-reference form, he shows that the founders loved their country but were quite capable of thinking outside the pew."--Kevin Eckstrom, Winston-Salem Journal
Table of ContentsPreface ix Founding Generation Members Quoted in This Volume xxi A Note on the Texts xxv The Quotations Addiction 1 Afterlife 5 Age 12 America 15 American Revolution 17 Animals 19 Atheism 20 Bible: Value of 23 Bible: Accuracy of the Text 26 Bible: Exegesis of 31 Bible: Old Testament 33 Bible: Revision of 36 Calvinism 38 Catholicism 40 Catholicism: Jesuits 44 Chaplains 46 Children 48 Christianity 55 Christianity: Christian Nation 59 Church and State 60 Clergy 66 Communion 70 Conscience: see Liberty of Conscience 70 Consolation 70 Constitution of the United States 76 Creeds 79 Crime and Punishment 82 Death 84 Deism 86 Divorce 87 Ecumenicism 90 Education 94 Episcopalians 96 Faith 99 Fast and Thanksgiving Days 100 God 103 Grief 111 Hell 115 Indians: see Native Americans 116 Islam 116 Jesus 121 Jews 126 Law 132 Liberty of Conscience 134 Marriage 138 Millennium 140 Miracles 141 Missionary and Bible Societies 142 Morality 146 Native Americans 149 New England 154 Oaths 154 Patriotism 156 Paul, the Apostle 157 Persecution 158 Plato 161 The Poor 163 Prayer 163 Presbyterians 171 Proclamations: see Fast and Thanksgiving Days 172 Profanity 172 Prophecy 173 Providence 176 Quakers 183 Reason 186 Religion, Freedom of: see Liberty of Conscience 189 Religion: Propensity of Humans for 189 Religion: Social Utility of 190 Republicanism 194 Rights 196 Sabbath 198 Sin 200 Slavery 206 Trinity 215 Unitarianism 220 Universalism 221 Virgin Mary 223 War 224 Women 230 Suggestions for Further Reading 235
