Should prayer be allowed in public schools? Should biology be taught according to Darwin or to the book of Genesis? Why is polygamy against the law? These are just a few of the questions that touch our lives directly and emerge out of the separation of church and state. In this volume, one of the most distinguished scholars of American religious history traces the complicated relationship of church and state from the early colonial period, through the unique American experiment in religious liberty after the Revolution, to the ongoing debate over religious issues in our schools and...
Should prayer be allowed in public schools? Should biology be taught according to Darwin or to the book of Genesis? Why is polygamy against the law? T...
The founder of Rhode Island and of the first Baptist Church in America, an original and passionate advocate for religious freedom, a rare New England colonist who befriended Native Americans and took seriously their culture and their legal rights, Roger Williams is the forgotten giant among the first English colonists. Now, Edwin S. Gaustad, a leading expert on the life of Roger Williams, offers a vividly written and authoritative biography of the most far-seeing of the early settlers--the first such biography written for a general audience. Readers follow Roger and Mary Williams on their...
The founder of Rhode Island and of the first Baptist Church in America, an original and passionate advocate for religious freedom, a rare New England ...
The tenth and youngest son of a poor Boston soapmaker, Benjamin Franklin would rise to become, in Thomas Jefferson's words, "the greatest man and ornament of his age." In this short, engaging biography, historian Edwin S. Gaustad offers a marvelous portrait of this towering colonial figure, illuminating Franklin's character and personality. Here is truly one of the most extraordinary lives imaginable, a man who, with only two years of formal education, became a printer, publisher, postmaster, philosopher, world-class scientist and inventor, statesman, musician, and abolitionist. Gaustad...
The tenth and youngest son of a poor Boston soapmaker, Benjamin Franklin would rise to become, in Thomas Jefferson's words, "the greatest man and orna...
"Dissent in American Religion," originally published in 1973, was the first book to present religious dissent in the United States as a pervasive but hidden and often-ignored stream in American life. The first volume in the Chicago History of American Religion series, it reviewed the history of our nation's longest dissenting tradition-a tradition older and richer in the realm of religion than in any other facet of national life. Indeed, Edwin Scott Gaustad argued that religious dissent was essential to the character of the American religious experience and stood in profound disagreement with...
"Dissent in American Religion," originally published in 1973, was the first book to present religious dissent in the United States as a pervasive but ...
In 1728 George Berkeley, the Irish philosopher and Anglican priest, came to America in the hope of founding a university in Bermuda and converting the Indians. He never reached Bermuda, where within a few years no Indians were left. Instead he settled in Newport, Rhode Island, one of the few places in New England that was hospitable to Anglicans. There his lively mind and sympathetic spirit involved him in a great variety of interests, though he stayed only thirty-three months. This book is a graceful snd authoritative account of an important episode in the life of a major philosopher and...
In 1728 George Berkeley, the Irish philosopher and Anglican priest, came to America in the hope of founding a university in Bermuda and converting the...
This acclaimed biography explores the religious life of Thomas Jefferson and the contribution his strident commitment to religious liberty made to the formation of the nation. Renowned historian Edwin Gaustad chronicles Jefferson's intellectual growth, paying particular attention both to Jefferson's private struggle to come to grips with his own faith and to his public role as champion of religious liberty. This volume is must reading for anyone interested in the religious life of one of America's most significant figures.
This acclaimed biography explores the religious life of Thomas Jefferson and the contribution his strident commitment to religious liberty made to the...
This anthology displays the tapestry of religious experience in America during the past three centuries. Compiled and edited by a foremost historian of American religion, these twenty-six spiritual autobiographies, ordered chronologically, uniquely capture the nation's soul in the words of the people who helped shape it. Featuring a full-page portrait of most of the writers included in the volume as well as insightful introductory comments by Edwin Gaustad, Memoirs of the Spirit offers an enlightening view of America's rich religious past - and suggests the multiplicity that is America's...
This anthology displays the tapestry of religious experience in America during the past three centuries. Compiled and edited by a foremost historian o...
"In this little volume Gaustad has provided us with fine primary source material on a little-known Baptist of the 17th century. Obadiah Holmes's] document itself is of considerable interest, since we have so few personal accounts from early Baptists, besides the outstanding men like Roger Williams. Reading Holmes, one recognizes the deep roots of evangelical piety in America. . . . Valuable as the text is, the editor's introduction makes the book far more significant. . . . Gaustad provides a fine account of the events that were the context for Holmes's life and action, and] abundant and...
"In this little volume Gaustad has provided us with fine primary source material on a little-known Baptist of the 17th century. Obadiah Holmes's] doc...
Williams advocated reform within his own faith community, but for his efforts was turned out of his own church. He eventually became a Separatist seeking a complete break from the Church of England. The tenants espoused by Williams are as valid for today as in the mid-seventeenth century. The classic text of religious freedom.
Williams advocated reform within his own faith community, but for his efforts was turned out of his own church. He eventually became a Separatist seek...
