This text examines the influential statesmen and the political struggles in revolutionary Virginia that played a decisive role in developing a distinctive American approach to religious liberty and church-state relations. This collection of innovative essays by leading scholars profiles the Christian communities in Virginia, analyses th religious philosophical influences of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and discusses the Virginian contributions to the American experiment in religious liberty.
Daniel L. Dreisbach is associate professor of justice, law, and society at American University. Garrett Ward Sheldon is John Morton Beaty Professor of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
Part 1 Religious Culture in Jefferson's Virginia Chapter 2 The Christian Communities, Religious Revivals, and Political Culture of the Central Virginia Piedmont, 1737-1813 Chapter 3 Perceptions of a 'Deist Church" in Early National Virginia Part 4 Theological and Philosophical Influences on Jefferson and Madison Chapter 5 The Religious Beliefs of Thomas Jefferson Chapter 6 Liberalism, Classicism, and Christianity in Jefferson's Political Thought Chapter 7 Jefferson and Bolingbroke: Some Notes on the Questions of Influence Chapter 8 James Madison and the Presbyterian Idea of Man and Government Part 9 Jefferson and Madison on Church and State Chapter 10 Church-State Debate in the Virginia Legislature Chapter 11 Mr. Jefferson's "Non-Absolute" Wall of Separation Between Church and State Chapter 12 Religion and Legal Reforms in Revolutionary Virginia Chapter 13 James Madison and the First Amendment Establishment of the Religion Clause
Religion and Political Culture in Jefferson's Virginia, a collection of trenchant essays written by eminent scholars of religion in American public life, brings fresh perspectives and innovative research to the study of religion's role in Virginian and American politics. National Liberty Journal A lively attack on the 'strict-separationist' construction of the Establishment Clause and an attempt to explain why the founders thought that state encouragement of religion supports good government. -- Phillip Munoz Claremont Review Of Books This is an exceptionally important and readable book. Students of religion and politics owe a deep debt of gratitude to Dreisbach and Sheldon for putting together a systematic correction of myths and misunderstandings about religion and politics in America. -- Charles W. Dunn, author of The Scarlet Thread of Scandal: Morality and the American Presidency
