One of the most intriguing questions in contemporary American Christianity is whether the recent warming of relations between Catholics and conservative evangelicals promises a thaw in the ice age that has lasted since the sixteenth century. American evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics have hated and suspected one another since colonial times. In the twentieth century, however, each community has experienced radical change, and this has led to a change in the relationship between the two.
In this book William Shea examines the history of this troubled relationship and the signs of...

The Enlightenment values of individual autonomy, democracy, and reason conflict with the religious traditions of community, authority, and traditional learning. Yet in American history the two heritages have been intertwined since the colonial era. This volume unites the work of theologians, historians, literary critics, and philosophers to explore the interaction between Enlightenment ideals and American religion. The essays focus on the Enlightenment's effect on the major religious traditions and explore religion in the thinking of such representative figures as Edwards, Emerson, Lincoln,...

The Enlightenment values of individual autonomy, democracy, and reason conflict with the religious traditions of community, authority, and traditional learning. Yet in American history the two heritages have been intertwined since the colonial era. This volume unites the work of theologians, historians, literary critics, and philosophers to explore the interaction between Enlightenment ideals and American religion. The essays focus on the Enlightenment's effect on the major religious traditions and explore religion in the thinking of such representative figures as Edwards, Emerson, Lincoln,...