The Faiths of Our Fathers: What America's Founders Really Believed

by Alf J. Mapp Jr.

Overview

Throughout our nation's history, the religious beliefs of America's founders have been contested and misunderstood. Did our founders advocate Christianity or atheism? In The Faiths of Our Fathers, widely acclaimed historian Alf J. Mapp, Jr. cuts through the historical uncertainty to accurately portray the religious beliefs of eleven of America's founding fathers, including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. He discovers men with religious beliefs as diverse as their political opinions. These profiles shed light on not only the lives and times of the revolutionary generation but also the role of religion in public life throughout American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742531154
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/07/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Alf J. Mapp, Jr., has written several works on America's founding and its founders including a widely acclaimed two-volume biography of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity and Thomas Jefferson: Passionate Pilgrim, both Book-of-the-Month Club featured selections. He resides in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: In the Beginning Was Variety
Chapter 2: Thomas Jefferson
Chapter 3: Benjamin Franklin
Chapter 4: James Madison
Chapter 5: John Adams
Chapter 6: George Washington
Chapter 7: John Marshall
Chapter 8: Patrick Henry
Chapter 9: Alexander Hamilton
Chapter 10: George Mason
Chapter 11: Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Chapter 12: Haym Saloman
Chapter 13: What Most People Thought
Appendix: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

In eleven biographical essays, Professor Mapp paints rich portraits of the lives of the most famous founders and several of the not-so-famous founders. These engaging profiles explore how religion informed the values, political philosophies, and public deeds of these men. The reader gains from these portraits an intimate acquaintance with the subjects and the times in which they lived. The essays are lively and, at times, witty. This volume will be of value to specialists and nonspecialist readers with general interests in the American founding, especially in the role of religion in forming the American Republic and its institutions.

Journal of Church and State

Mapp provides a highly readable overview of the religious beliefs of the generation that declared independence and wrote the U.S. Constitution in the 1770s and 1780s. .. good writing, careful research, and great common sense. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

This engaging, highly readable volume reminds us of the vital role religion played in the creation of the Republic. Professor Mapp’s rich biographical portraits provide useful insights into the religious faiths that shaped the characters, values, and political contributions of the Founding Fathers. The Faiths of the Fathers is a welcome addition to the literature on the American Founding.

Daniel L. Dreisbach

Employing the thoughtful and graceful narrative style we have come to expect from books by Alf Mapp, in The Faith of Our Fathers he brings much-needed light to an issue that has confused Americans for generations. And by disclosing the varied religious beliefs of persons such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and many others, he also demonstrates how ‘the Founding Fathers' habitual ruminations on ethics did much to make their era the greatest in human history. A book that is certain to make a significant contribution to the wisdom and understanding of those who are wise enough to read it.

Paul C. Nagel

An accessible, well-researched collection of short essays on the Founders that is as informative as it is a delight to read. The Faiths of Our Fathers is a much-needed corrective to many current misconceptions about the role of faith in the lives of the Founders. It is of high value to the student as well as the lay reader.

The Virginian-Pilot

Alf Mapp's Faiths of Our Fathers explores the religions of eleven of the Founders. We learn for the first time of the breadth and diversity of their thoughts. Only the master historian could carry his readers over such untraveled waters and establish connections with the period in which we live today. A magnificent achievement!

Kenneth W. Thompson

In eleven biographical essays, Professor Mapp paints rich portraits of the lives of the most famous founders and several of the not-so-famous founders. These engaging profiles explore how religion informed the values, political philosophies, and public deeds of these men. The reader gains from these portraits an intimate acquaintance with the subjects and the times in which they lived. The essays are lively and, at times, witty. This volume will be of value to specialists and nonspecialist readers with general interests in the American founding, especially in the role of religion in forming the American Republic and its institutions.

Journal of Church & State

In eleven biographical essays, Professor Mapp paints rich portraits of the lives of the most famous founders and several of the not-so-famous founders. These engaging profiles explore how religion informed the values, political philosophies, and public deeds of these men. The reader gains from these portraits an intimate acquaintance with the subjects and the times in which they lived. The essays are lively and, at times, witty. This volume will be of value to specialists and nonspecialist readers with general interests in the American founding, especially in the role of religion in forming the American Republic and its institutions.

Journal Of Church and State

Mapp provides a highly readable overview of the religious beliefs of the generation that declared independence and wrote the U.S. Constitution in the 1770s and 1780s . . . good writing, careful research, and great common sense. Recommended.

Choice

Employing the thoughtful and graceful narrative style we have come to expect from books by Alf Mapp, in The Faith of Our Fathers he brings much-needed light to an issue that has confused Americans for generations. And by disclosing the varied religious beliefs of persons such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and many others, he also demonstrates how 'the Founding Fathers' habitual ruminations on ethics did much to make their era the greatest in human history. A book that is certain to make a significant contribution to the wisdom and understanding of those who are wise enough to read it.--Paul C. Nagel, author of John Quincy Adams and Descent from Glory

Alf Mapp's Faiths of Our Fathers explores the religions of eleven of the Founders. We learn for the first time of the breadth and diversity of their thoughts. Only the master historian could carry his readers over such untraveled waters and establish connections with the period in which we live today. A magnificent achievement!--Kenneth W. Thompson, Wilson Newman Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia, White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs

This engaging, highly readable volume reminds us of the vital role religion played in the creation of the Republic. Professor Mapp's rich biographical portraits provide useful insights into the religious faiths that shaped the characters, values, and political contributions of the Founding Fathers. The Faiths of the Fathers is a welcome addition to the literature on the American Founding.--Daniel L. Dreisbach, American University, author of Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State

From the Publisher

Mapp provides a highly readable overview of the religious beliefs of the generation that declared independence and wrote the U.S. Constitution in the 1770s and 1780s . . . good writing, careful research, and great common sense. Recommended.

CHOICE