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04034aam a22004574a 4500 001 8DC6AB50E05511E1B4DE4CCF6AFF544E 003 SILO 005 20120807010223 008 120227s2012 ksu b 001 0 eng 010 $a 2012005819 020 $a 0700618457 (alk. paper) 020 $a 9780700618453 (alk. paper) 035 $a (OCoLC)760979116 040 $a DLC $b eng $c DLC $d SILO $d BTCTA $d BDX $d YDXCP $d IG# $d BWX $d CDX $d SGB $d OWT $d SILO 042 $a pcc 043 $a n-us--- 050 00 $a BL2525 $b .F74 2012 082 00 $a 200.92/273 $2 23 100 1 $a Frazer, Gregg L. 245 1 $a The religious beliefs of America's founders : $b reason, revelation, and revolution / $c Gregg L. Frazer. 260 $a Lawrence, Kan. : $b University Press of Kansas, $c c2012. 300 $a xii, 299 p. ; $c 25 cm. 490 1 $a American political thought 504 $a Includes bibliographical references and index. 505 0 $a Theistic rationalism introduced -- "Divine" sources of theistic rationalism -- Theistic rationalism in the revolutionary pulpit -- Theistic rationalism of John Adams -- Theistic rationalism of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin -- Theistic rationalism of the key framers -- Theistic rationalism of George Washington -- Significance of theistic rationalism. 520 $a Were America's Founders Christians or deists? Conservatives and secularists have taken each position respectively, mustering evidence to insist just how tall the wall separating church and state should be. Now Gregg Frazer puts their arguments to rest in the first comprehensive analysis of the Founders' beliefs as they themselves expressed them -- showing that today's political right and left are both wrong. Going beyond church attendance or public pronouncements made for political ends, Frazer scrutinizes the Founders' candid declarations regarding religion found in their private writings. Distilling decades of research, he contends that these men were neither Christian nor deist but rather adherents of a system he labels "theistic rationalism," a hybrid belief system that combined elements of natural religion, Protestantism, and reason -- with reason the decisive element. Frazer explains how this theological middle ground developed, what its core beliefs were, and how they were reflected in the thought of eight Founders: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington. He argues convincingly that Congregationalist Adams is the clearest example of theistic rationalism; that presumed deists Jefferson and Franklin are less secular than supposed; and that even the famously taciturn Washington adheres to this theology. He also shows that the Founders held genuinely religious beliefs that aligned with morality, republican government, natural rights, science, and progress. Frazer's careful explication helps readers better understand the case for revolutionary recruitment, the religious references in the Declaration of Independence, and the religious elements -- and lack thereof -- in the Constitution. He also reveals how influential clergymen, backing their theology of theistic rationalism with reinterpreted Scripture, preached and published liberal democratic theory to justify rebellion. - Publisher. 650 0 $a Founding Fathers of the United States $x Religious life. 650 0 $a Religion and politics $z United States $x History $y 18th century. 651 0 $a United States $x Religion $y To 1800. 650 0 $a Theism $z United States. 650 0 $a Rationalism. 651 0 $a United States $x Church history $y 18th century. 830 0 $a American political thought. 941 $a 6 952 $l PLAX964 $d 20240724071003.0 952 $l PQAX094 $d 20231214033122.0 952 $l PMAX975 $d 20191119044424.0 952 $l OVUX522 $d 20171226030407.0 952 $l USUX851 $d 20160826062223.0 952 $l UQAX771 $d 20120822010802.0 956 $a http://locator.silo.lib.ia.us/search.cgi?index_0=id&term_0=8DC6AB50E05511E1B4DE4CCF6AFF544EInitiate Another SILO Locator Search