Founding Faith, Steven Waldman
Founding Faith, Steven Waldman
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Founding Faith
Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America

Author: Steven Waldman

Narrator: David Colacci

Unabridged: 9 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/11/2008

Synopsis

The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation." Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet.com editor in chief Steven Waldman.With refreshing objectivity, Waldman narrates the real story of how our nation's founders forged a new approach to religious liberty, a revolutionary formula that promoted faith—by leaving it alone. The spiritual custody battle over the Founding Fathers and the role of religion in America continues today. Waldman provocatively argues that neither side in the culture war has accurately depicted the true origins of the First Amendment. He sets the record straight, revealing the real history of religious freedom to be dramatic, unexpected, paradoxical, and inspiring.

About Steven Waldman

Steven Waldman is co-founder, CEO, and editor in chief of Beliefnet.com, the largest faith and spirituality website. Previously, Waldman was the national editor of U.S. News & World Report and a national correspondent for Newsweek. His writings have also appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Slate, The Washington Monthly, National Review, and elsewhere. He appears frequently on television and radio to discuss religion and politics. He is the author of Founding Faith, and The Bill, a book about the creation of AmeriCorps. Waldman lives in New York with his wife, the writer Amy Cunningham, and their children, Joseph and Gordon.

About David Colacci

David Colacci is an actor and director who has directed and performed in prominent theaters nationwide. His credits include roles from Shakespeare to Albee, as well as extensive work on new plays. As a narrator, he has won numerous Earphones Awards, earned Audie Award nominations, and been included in Best Audio of the Year lists by such publications as Publishers Weekly, AudioFile magazine, and Library Journal. He was a resident actor and director with the Cleveland Play House for eight years and has been artistic director of the Hope Summer Rep Theater since 1992.

Reviews

Goodreads review by R.M. on November 16, 2020

Waldman takes a balanced view of the religious beliefs of the Founding Fathers, through the proper lens of the culture of the time, and addresses misused quotes on both sides of the culture wars. Balance is hard to find these days, so I greatly appreciated Waldman's approach.......more

Goodreads review by Clinton on December 19, 2008

Interesting and lucid history of religious liberty in the US by the editor-in-chief of Beliefnet.com. The book has two purposes: 1. Providing a layman's overview of the evolution of religious freedom, mostly focusing on the founding fathers, esp. Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, and Madison a......more

Goodreads review by Kris on August 25, 2019

Some useful ideas, but nothing spectacular. He goes through some historical facts, analyzes the personal faith of some Founding Fathers, and debunks some common “church vs. state” myths. He intentionally picks apart weaknesses on both sides of the debate, in an attempt to remain impartial, which is......more

Goodreads review by Murray on June 12, 2014

Well written treatise that looks at the contributions of Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison to the separation of church and state in this country. Both liberal and conservative myths are debunked in this treatment. Madison, who comes off being the guiding spirit of religious liberty......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on January 24, 2009

When it comes to the role of religion in politics, modern conservatives and liberals are talking past each other. Both groups get some aspects of the history of faith in politics right, and both distort certain aspects of this history to appear more advantageous to their argument. Founding Faith show......more

Quotes

“Steven Waldman, a veteran journalist and cofounder of Beliefnet.com, a religious web site, surveys the convictions and legacy of the founders clearly and fairly, with a light touch but a careful eye.” New York Times Book Review

“Enlightening…wise and engaging on many levels…Waldman finds a middle ground between those who think of the Founders as apostles in powdered wigs and those who assert, equally inaccurately, that the Founders believed religion had no place in politics.” Newsweek

“[An] engaging, well-researched study…Waldman produces a thoughtful and remarkably balanced account of religion in early America.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Well-wrought, well-written, and well-reasoned—a welcome infusion of calm good sense into a perennially controversial and relevant subject.” Kirkus Reviews

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