Meacham, Jon. <br/><br/>
American gospel :  God, the founding fathers, and the making of a nation / 
Jon Meacham. 
 - 1st ed. 
 - New York :  Random House,  c2006. 
 - xii, 399 p. :  ill. ;  22 cm. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (p. [359]-387). 
<br/><br/> Author Meacham tells the human story of how the Founding Fathers viewed faith, and how they ultimately created a nation in which belief in God is a matter of choice. At a time when our country seems divided by extremism, this book draws on the past to offer a new perspective. Meacham re-creates the history of a nation grappling with religion and politics--from John Winthrop's "city on a hill" sermon to Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence; from a proposed nineteenth-century Christian Amendment to the Constitution to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s call for civil rights; from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. At the heart of the American experiment lies what Benjamin Franklin called "public religion," a God who invests all human beings with inalienable rights while protecting private religion from government interference. It is a great American balancing act, and it has served us well.--From publisher description. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>1400065550 9781400065554 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2006041161 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Religion and politics--History.--United States<br/>Christianity and politics--History.--United States<br/>National characteristics, American.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Geographic Terms: </label><br/>United States--Religion.<br/>United States--History--Religious aspects--Christianity.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>BL 2525  / .M423 2006