Location: The Heritage Foundation's Allison Auditorium
No American living in 1800 would have predicted that Thomas
Jefferson's idiosyncratic views on church and state would ever
eclipse those of George Washington let alone become constitutional
dogma. Yet today's Supreme Court guards no doctrine more
fiercely than Jefferson's antagonistic wall of separation between
church and state. Washington's sharply contrasting views,
explored in this new book, suggest a more reasonable interpretation
of the First Amendment, one that is consistent with religion's
importance to the enterprise of democracy. Washington
considered religion essential for the virtue required of
self-governing citizens. Though careful not to favor
particular sects, he believed that a republican democracy must not
merely accommodate religion but encourage it.
Tara Ross and Joseph Smith combine a study of Washington's
thought with a copious appendix containing the full texts of his
letters, speeches, and official documents on issues of church and
state. An epilogue explains how Jefferson's separationist
perspective achieved its disproportional influence on the modern
Supreme Court.
More About the Speakers
Tara Ross
Author
Joseph C. Smith, Jr.
Author
Hosted By
Todd Gaziano
Director, Center for Legal & Judicial Studies
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