03709nam a2200517Ka 4500 ocn759862782 OCoLC 20200709055429.0 m d cr cnu---unuuu 111107s2011 nyu ob 000 0 eng d N$T N$T 9780231526401 (electronic bk.) 0231526407 (electronic bk.) 9780231151009 0231151004 (OCoLC)759862782 399886 (N$T) eng fre n-us--- BR515 .L2513 2011eb REL 012110 bisacsh REL 070000 bisacsh 261.70973 22 N$TA Lacorne, Denis. De la religion en Amérique. English Religion in America [electronic resource] : a political history / Denis Lacorne ; translated by George Holoch. New York : Columbia University Press, c2011. 1 online resource (xx, 225 p.) Religion, culture and public life Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-225). America, the land of religious utopias -- The rehabilitation of the Puritans -- Evangelical awakenings -- The Bible wars -- Religion, race, and national identity -- A godless America -- The rise of the religious right -- The wall of separation between church and state -- Epilogue: Obama's faith-friendly secularism. Denis Lacorne identifies two competing narratives defining the American identity. The first narrative, derived from the philosophy of the Enlightenment, is essentially secular. Associated with the Founding Fathers and reflected in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers, this line of reasoning is predicated on separating religion from politics to preserve political freedom from an overpowering church. Prominent thinkers such as Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and Jean-Nicolas Démeunier, who viewed the American project as a radical attempt to create a new regime free from religion and the weight of ancient history, embraced this American effort to establish a genuine "wall of separation" between church and state. The second narrative is based on the premise that religion is a fundamental part of the American identity and emphasizes the importance of the original settlement of America by New England Puritans. This alternative vision was elaborated by Whig politicians and Romantic historians in the first half of the nineteenth century. It is still shared by modern political scientists such as Samuel Huntington. These thinkers insist America possesses a core, stable "Creed" mixing Protestant and republican values. Lacorne outlines the role of religion in the making of these narratives and examines, against this backdrop, how key historians, philosophers, novelists, and intellectuals situate religion in American politics. Description based on print version record. Christianity and politics United States History. United States Church history. RELIGION / Christian Life / Social Issues bisacsh RELIGION / Christianity / General bisacsh Electronic books. Print version: Lacorne, Denis. De la religion en Amérique. English. Religion in America. New York : Columbia University Press, c2011 9780231151009 (DLC) 2011014314 (OCoLC)693812399 Religion, culture, and public life. EBSCOhost http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=399886 cpp1723AUTO 02 N$T 50689 50689