God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution -

Thomas S. Kidd

Basic Books

2010

304 páginas

10h 8m

ISBN-13: 9780465002351

God of Liberty, an even-handed, scholarly treatment of the Revolutionary era, ranks in my top ten favorite books. I have found myself on numerous occasions irritated by the obvious bias of historians on both sides who have an obvious agenda in the "history" they present. Thomas Kidd does a masterful job deciphering the religious and secular culture of this period. With a particular reliance on primary sources, Kidd brings to light questions pertinent to our own situation today. What did Jefferson mean by a "wall of separation?" "Was America founded as a Christian nation?" Yes and no. Kidd tells it like it is without glossing over issues some may want to ignore. Our founding fathers were a group of people with very different religious persuasions who came together for the cause of liberty. All agreed liberty and equality were bequeathed by our Creator. The "wall of separation" and the freedom of religion were won by a uniting of the evangelicals and the rationalists to bring about the disestablishment of a state supported denomination. Jefferson "saw religion as an indispensable bulwark of the Republic, and he would never have entertained the idea that government should be hostile to religious exercise...He simply believed that the government should never preference any denomination..." Kidd also warns against claims that Providence is on one particular side. All we have to do is remember that both sides of the Civil War claimed God was on their side to know this is dangerous territory. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Founding era and/or knowing the thoughts of the Founders on issues we face today.