RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Ragosta, John A.

ISBN 10: 0813933706 / ISBN 13: 9780813933702

Published by UNIV OF VIRGINIA PR, 2013

About this Item

&Uumlber den AutorJohn Ragosta is Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Hamilton College, USA.KlappentextrnrnOffers a vigorous defence of Thomas Jefferson s advocacy for a strict separation of church and state. .

Seller Inventory # 808037254

Bibliographic Details

• Title: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
• Publisher: UNIV OF VIRGINIA PR
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813933706
• ISBN 13: 9780813933702
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

For over one hundred years, Thomas Jefferson and his Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom have stood at the center of our understanding of religious liberty and the First Amendment. Jefferson’s expansive vision―including his insistence that political freedom and free thought would be at risk if we did not keep government out of the church and church out of government―enjoyed a near consensus of support at the Supreme Court and among historians, until Justice William Rehnquist called reliance on Jefferson "demonstrably incorrect." Since then, Rehnquist’s call has been taken up by a bevy of jurists and academics anxious to encourage renewed government involvement with religion.

In Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed, the historian and lawyer John Ragosta offers a vigorous defense of Jefferson’s advocacy for a strict separation of church and state. Beginning with a close look at Jefferson’s own religious evolution, Ragosta shows that deep religious beliefs were at the heart of Jefferson’s views on religious freedom. Basing his analysis on that Jeffersonian vision, Ragosta redefines our understanding of how and why the First Amendment was adopted. He shows how the amendment’s focus on maintaining the authority of states to regulate religious freedom demonstrates that a very strict restriction on federal action was intended. Ultimately revealing that the great sage demanded a firm separation of church and state but never sought a wholly secular public square, Ragosta provides a new perspective on Jefferson, the First Amendment, and religious liberty within the United States.

About the Author

John A. Ragosta is a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and a fellow at Virginia Humanities. He received his PhD in historyand his law degree from the University of Virginia. He has taught atHamilton, Oberlin, and Randolph Colleges, UVA, and George WashingtonUniversity. Prior to earning his PhD, Dr. Ragosta practicedinternational trade law and litigation in Washington, DC. He also keepsbees.