The First Freedoms : Church and State in America to the Passage of the First Amendment

Is government forbidden to assist all religions equally, as the Supreme Court has held? Or does the First Amendment merely ban exclusive aid to one religion, as critics of the Court assert? The First Freedoms studies the church-state context of colonial and revolutionary America to present a bold new reading of the historical meaning of the religion clauses of the First Amendment. Synthesizing and interpreting a wealth of evidence from the founding of Virginia to the passage of the Bill of Rights, including everything published in America before 1791, Thomas Curry traces America's developing ideas on religious liberty and offers the most extensive investigation ever of the historical origins and background of the First Amendment's religion clauses.

is Government Forbidden To Assist All Religions Equally, As The Supreme Court Has Held? Or Does The First Amendment Merely Ban Exclusive Aid To One Religion, As Critics Of The Court Assert? After Years Of Debate The Controversy Still Rages On, With Both Positions Now More Solidified But Neither Side Victorious. The First Freedoms Studies The Church-state Context Of Colonial And Revolutionary America To Provide A Bold New Reading Of The Historical Meaning Of The Religion Clauses Of The First Amendment. Synthesizing And Interpreting A Wealth Of Evidence From The Founding Of Virginia To The Passage Of The Bill Of Rights, Including Everything Published In America Before 1791, Thomas Curry Traces America's Developing Ideas On Religious Liberty And Offers The Most Extensive Investigation Ever Of The Historical Origins And Background Of The First Amendment Religion Clauses. While Recognizing That History Cannot Resolve All Modern Church-state Issues, Thomas Curry Does Show That Historians Can Make Some Definitive Statements About What Early Americans Understood By Establishment And The Free Exercise Of Religion. This Pathbreaking Study Has Been Adopted By The History Book Club.

Contents......Page 10 1. The New England Way in Church and State to 1691......Page 14 2. Church and State in Seventeenth-Century Virginia and Maryland......Page 42 3. Church and State in the Restoration Colonies......Page 67 4. Liberty of Conscience in Eighteenth-Century Colonial America......Page 91 5. Establishment of Religion in Colonial America......Page 118 6. Religion and Government in Revolutionary America Part I: The Southern States......Page 147 7. Religion and Government in Revolutionary America Part II: The Middle States and New England......Page 172 8. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ."......Page 206 Notes......Page 236 B......Page 282 C......Page 283 F......Page 284 L......Page 285 N......Page 286 R......Page 287 V......Page 288 Y......Page 289 From the founding of Virginia to the passage of the Bill of Rights, the role of the First Amendment's religion clauses has never been clearly defined. A throrough examination of America's developing ideas on religious liberty, First Freedoms presents a bold new interpretation of the Church-State context of colonial and revolutionary America.