Rediscovering America's sacred ground : public religion and pursuit of the good in a pluralistic America / Barbara A. McGraw.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGraw, Barbara A.

Series:

SUNY series, religion and American public life

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civil religion--United States.

Civil religion.

United States--Religion.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (261 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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?

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Toward a Debate on Common Ground

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

Rooting the Contemporary Debate in Sacred Ground

Taking Sides and Looking Left

Looking Right

Grounding the Debate

Conclusion

A Few Definitions

Freedom of Conscience in Revolutionary Period State Constitutions and Declarations of Rights

Drafts of the Religion Clauses Proposed in the Debates of the First Congress

Notes

Suggested Readings

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-233) and index.

ISBN:

0-7914-8695-8

1-4175-0685-7

OCLC:

61367730