Faiths of the Founding Fathers

David L. Holmes challenges the claim that the United States was founded as a Christian nation by examining the religious culture of the colonial era and the beliefs of the founding generation. He shows that while Christianity was influential, Deism played a major role among American intellectuals at the time.

Holmes finds that although some founders were orthodox Christians, many leading figures respected Christianity mainly for its moral teachings and rejected core doctrines such as the divinity of Christ. He concludes that the founders’ faith differed greatly from modern evangelical Christianity, complicating modern claims about America’s religious origins.

Author: David L. Holmes

Publisher: OUP USA

Released Date: 2006

ISBN: 9780195300925