Meyerson, Michael. <br/><br/>
Endowed by our creator :  the birth of religious freedom in America / 
 Birth of religious freedom in America 
Michael I. Meyerson. 
 - New Haven :  Yale University Press,   
 - x, 368 pages ;  25 cm 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-358) and index. 
<br/><br/>The great seal -- Before the beginning -- A tolerant, Protestant nation -- The second American revolution -- "We have become a nation" : drafting the Constitution -- Adding the First Amendment -- Freedom of religion in the new nation -- Original wisdom. 
<br/><br/> "Focuses on the actual writings and actions of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and others. Legal scholar Michael I. Meyerson investigates how the framers of the Constitution envisioned religious freedom and how they intended it to operate in the new republic. Endowed by Our Creator shows that the framers understood that the American government should not acknowledge religion in a way that favors any particular creed or denomination. Nevertheless, the framers believed that religion could instill virtue and help to unify a diverse nation. They created a spiritual public vocabulary, one that could communicate to all --- including agnostics and atheists -- that they were valued members of the political community. Through their writings and their decisions, the framers affirmed that respect for religious differences is a fundamental American value, Meyerson concludes. Now it is for us to determine whether religion will be used to alienate and divide or to inspire and unify our religiously diverse nation."--Jacket. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9780300166323 030016632X 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2011044463 
<br/><br/><label>Nat. Bib. No.: </label>GBB225827  bnb 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Corporate Names: </label><br/>United States. 1st Amendment.  Constitution. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Uniform Titles: </label><br/>Constitution (United States)
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Freedom of religion--United States.<br/>Freedom of religion.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Geographic Terms: </label><br/>United States.<br/>United States.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>KF4783  / .M49 2012 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>342.7308/52