Rediscovering America's Sacred Ground: Public Religion And Pursuit Of The Good In A Pluralistic America Project Muse Upcc Books

Sees a way out of the contentious debates over the role of religion in American public life by looking back to the ideas of John Locke and the nation's founders. REDISCOVERING AMERICA’S SACRED GROUND......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Prologue......Page 16 At the Crossroads of the Twenty-First Century......Page 20 Roots of the Conflict......Page 22 Original Intent and the Religion Clauses: At the Core of the Debate......Page 24 Entering the Fray......Page 29 On Looking Back to Rediscover America's Moral Foundations......Page 34 A Few Definitions......Page 38 Part I: Looking Back to Rediscover America's Sacred Ground......Page 40 John Locke: Prophet of America......Page 42 Locke's Political Theology: Locating the Sacred Center in Each Individual's Relationship with God......Page 44 The Social Contract as Society's Sacred Ground......Page 53 Aiming for the Kingdom of God Requires "Just Bounds" between Civil Government and Churches......Page 60 Rediscovering the Individual as the Sole Authority over Conscience and the Authentic Religious Community as a Free and Voluntary Call to Conscience......Page 64 Setting the "Just Bounds" between Individual Conscience's Moral Choice and the State......Page 66 Rethinking the Private/Public Dichotomy in Locke's Political Theology and the "Public" Role of Religion......Page 69 Rediscovering the Moral Ground of Locke's Political Theology......Page 73 Distinguishing Locke's Reasonable Christianity from His Political Theology......Page 76 Creating the Political Context for the Realization of the True and the Good......Page 78 Rediscovering John Locke in the Revolutionary Spirit......Page 80 Rediscovering the Religious Roots of the American Political System......Page 85 The States: Toward Government that Ensures Freedom of Conscience and Seeks to Promote a Good Society......Page 92 The United States: Toward Government that Ensures Freedom of Conscience and Creates the Context for the Search for the True and the Good......Page 99 Exploring the Theological Terrain of America's Sacred Ground......Page 107 Comparing the Moral Terrain of America's Sacred Ground with the Moral Order of Overarching Worldview Aproaches to Government......Page 110 The Civic and Conscientious Morality of the Two-Tiered Public Forum......Page 113 The Role of Religion in the Public Forum and in the Pursuit of the Good......Page 118 America's Sacred Ground: The Foundation for Pluralism and Multiculturalism that Refutes the Claims of Moral Relativity......Page 121 America's Sacred Ground as the Common Good: Where Religious Voices are Prominent and Truth Can Shift for Herself......Page 124 Part II: Rooting the Contemporary Debate in Sacred Ground......Page 126 Unraveling the Contemporary Debate......Page 128 Embracing the Fears at the Extremes: Left and Right......Page 129 Reconsidering the Secular Left from the Perspective of America's Sacred Ground......Page 138 John Rawls: Compromising America's Sacred Ground with Public Reasons......Page 147 Reconsidering the Religious Right from the Perspective of America's Sacred Ground......Page 156 Accommodation: Compromising America's Sacred Ground by Mediating the Extremes......Page 171 Sifting through the Confusion in the Contemporary Debate......Page 186 Reorienting the Debate to Aim for the Good......Page 192 CONCLUSION: America’s Sacred Ground: Our Civic Faith......Page 194 APPENDIX A: A Few Definitions......Page 204 APPENDIX B: Freedom of Conscience in Revolutionary Period State Constitutions and Declarations of Rights......Page 212 APPENDIX C: Drafts of the Religion Clauses Proposed in the Debates of the First Congress......Page 218 CHAPTER 1—TOWARD A DEBATE ON COMMON GROUND......Page 222 CHAPTER 2—REDISCOVERING THE ROOTS OF AMERICA’S SACRED GROUND IN JOHN LOCKE......Page 223 CHAPTER 3—THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION: ESTABLISHING AMERICA’S SACRED GROUND......Page 229 CHAPTER 4—TAKING SIDES AND LOOKING LEFT......Page 240 CHAPTER 5—LOOKING RIGHT......Page 242 APPENDIX A—A FEW DEFINITIONS......Page 246 Suggested Readings......Page 250 C......Page 254 G......Page 255 L......Page 256 M......Page 257 P......Page 258 S......Page 259 Y......Page 260 Returning To The Ideas Of John Locke And The Founders Themselves, Barbara A. Mcgraw Examines The Debate About The Role Of Religion In American Public Life And Unravels The Confounded Rhetoric On All Sides. She Reveals That No Group Has Been Standing On Proper Ground And That All Sides Have Misused Terminology (religion/secular), Dichotomies (public/private), And Concepts (separation Of Church And State) In Ways That Have Little Relevance To The Original Intentions Of The Founders. She Rediscovers A Theology Underlying The Founding Documents Of The Nation That Is Neither Anyone's Particular Religion Nor One Requiring Religion.--jacket. Toward A Debate On Common Ground -- Pt. I. Looking Back To Rediscover America's Sacred Ground. Rediscovering The Roots Of America's Sacred Ground In John Locke ; The United States Constitution: Establishing America's Sacred Ground -- Pt. Ii. Rooting The Contemporary Debate In Sacred Ground. Taking Sides And Looking Left ; Looking Right ; Grounding The Debate ; Conclusion. America's Sacred Ground: Our Civic Faith -- [appendixes.] A.a Few Definitions ; B. Freedom Of Conscience In Revolutionary Period Constitutions And Declarations Of Rights ; C. Drafts Of The Religion Clause In The Debates Of The First Congress. Barbara A. Mcgraw. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 231-233) And Index. Returning to the ideas of John Locke and the Founders themselves, Barbara A. McGraw examines the debate about the role of religion in American public life and unravels the confounded rhetoric on all sides. She reveals that no group has been standing on proper ground and that all sides have misused terminology (religion/secular), dichotomies (public/private), and concepts (separation of church and state) in ways that have little relevance to the original intentions of the Founders. She rediscovers a theology underlying the founding documents of the nation that is neither anyone's particular religion nor one requiring religion. Instead, it justifies freedom of conscience for all and provides a two-tiered public forum—a civic public forum and a conscientious public forum—for the debate itself and the actions that debate inspires. America's Sacred Ground—this theology and its public forum—determines the meaning of freedom and the ways in which Americans can pursue'the good': good government, good communities, good families, good relations between individuals, and good individuals from a plurality of perspectives. By exploring our past, McGraw answers the critical question, Who are we as a people and what do we stand for?