Shapers of the Great Debate on the Freedom of Religion: A Biographical Dictionary [Hardcover]

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.Jonathan A. Wrightis an independent scholar who has published on various aspects of religious history and has contributed toNew Dictionary of National BiographyandDictionary of American History.

Introduction: Religious Freedoms in America
The Interest of Righteousness by John Cotton
A Woman Not Fit for Our Society by Anne Hutchinson
Soul Liberty by Roger Williams
From God and the Company by Peter Stuyvesant
A Holy Experiment by William Penn
American Whig by William Livingston
An Equal Claim by Isaac Backus
A Matter between Man and His God by Thomas Jefferson
Beyond the Cognizance of Civil Society by James Madison
Borrowed from the Bible by Lyman Beecher
Judging the New Republic by Joseph Story
Dagger John by John Hughes
A Temple in the Heart by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Cry of the Oppressed by Joseph Smith
An Open Gate by Isaac Mayerl)