Religion and Political Culture in Jefferson's Virginia

by Sheldon, Garrett Ward; Dreisbach, Daniel L.; Beliles, Mark A.; Thompson, Thomas C.; Sanford, Charles B.; Sheldon, Garrett Ward; Wilson, Douglas L.; Swanson, Mary-Elaine; Dreisbach, Daniel L.; Cord, Robert L.; Drakeman, Donald L.

• ISBN13: 9780742507746
• ISBN10: 0742507742
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-30
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Religion and Political Culture in Jefferson's Virginia examines the influential statesmen and the political struggles in revolutionary Virginia that played a decisive role in developing a distinctive American approach to religious liberty and church-state relations. This collection of innovative essays by leading scholars profiles the Christian communities in Virginia, analyzes the religious philosophical influences of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and discusses the Virginian contributions to the American experiment in religious liberty.

Table of Contents

Editors' Preface	ix
Part I: Religious Culture in Jefferson's Virginia	1	(58)
The Christian Communities, Religious Revivals, and Political Culture of the Central Virginia Piedmont, 1737-1813	3	(38)
Mark A. Beliles
Perceptions of a ``Deist Church'' in Early National Virginia	41	(18)
Thomas C. Thompson
Part II: Theological and Philosophical Influences on Jefferson and Madison	59	(74)
The Religious Beliefs of Thomas Jefferson	61	(32)
Charles B. Sanford
Liberalism, Classicism, and Christianity in Jefferson's Political Thought	93	(14)
Garrett Ward Sheldon
Jefferson and Bolingbroke: Some Notes on the Question of Influence	107	(12)
Douglas L. Wilson
James Madison and the Presbyterian Idea of Man and Government	119	(14)
Mary-Elaine Swanson
Part III: Jefferson and Madison on Church and State	133	(102)
Church-State Debate in the Virginia Legislature: From the Declaration of Rights to the Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom	135	(32)
Daniel L. Dreisbach
Mr. Jefferson's ``Nonabsolute'' Wall of Separation Between Church and State	167	(22)
Robert L. Cord
Religion and Legal Reforms in Revolutionary Virginia: A Reexamination of Jefferson's Views on Religious Freedom and Church-State Separation	189	(30)
Daniel L. Dreisbach
James Madison and the First Amendment Establishment of Religion Clause	219	(16)
Donald L. Drakeman
About the Contributors	235