Customer Reviews

Franklin, Jefferson, & Madison: on Religion and the State (U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights)

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Franklin, Jefferson, & Madison: On Religion And The State by Constitutional history expert and scholar Gregory Schaaf (Co-coordinator of the Center for Indigenous Arts & Cultures, an historical archive and museum located in Sante Fe, New Mexico) showcases the life stories of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison with a special emphasis upon their respective religious views and expressions of faith as recorded in their correspondences and other writings as revealed in their personal papers housed in the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and other library collections. These three "founding fathers" shared the similar views that one of the most fundamental rights in the new American republic was that of the Freedom of Religion; that no government official (or anyone else) should be able to interfere with any citizen's free exercise of whatever their religious beliefs and practices should be; that the newly formed United State of America should not adopt any religions as "official"; that federal tax dollars should never be allocated to the support of any particular church or support any specific religious group; that all of the different religions, Christian or non-Christian should be respected; and that the doctrine of Church/State separation should be maintained from the local municipal level to that of the national government. Franklin, Jefferson, & Madison: On Religion And The State offers a superbly presented contribution to what our political heritage truly was with respect to the issues of Church and State, and is a timely and very highly recommended contribution to the contemporary national dialogue over the proper role of the religious community with respect to the secular government, and the secular government's involvement with religious issues.

As an immigrant from Sweden in 1950, I was sworn in as a US Citizen in Los Angeles at the age of 18 in 1953 after a short course on US history and US government. It was a proud day. But it wasn't until I read Gregory Schaaf's book this fall that I got a true picture of the difficult and marvellous process of the deeply committed, dedicated, intelligent and tenacious men who laid the foundation of freedom for this great country. This book should be required reading for all candidates for US citizenship, as well as part of any mid-school history or social studies curriculum. It is an easy and fascinating read and I find myself even more proud of being an American. In these days of unrest and protest, this is a very timely book.

I purchased this book at an ALA convention and was fortunate enough to have a chance to speak with the author. It was very obvious that he has a great love of and knowledge of our founding fathers and of the Constitution. That love of his subject comes through as he describes the reasons why it is important to maintain a seperation of Church and State and the fallacies of the "Christian Nation" rhetoric that's becoming more and more common these days.