Church-state Relations In The Early American Republic 1787-1846

The author of the essay, Kabala, discusses the debate over church-state relations in the early American republic, and how religion played a key role in the formation of the nation. He argues that Americans of the early republic devoted close attention to the question of what should be the proper relationship between church and state, and that an understanding of this period is not possible without appreciating the key role religion played in the formation of the nation.

Americans of the Early Republic devoted close attention to the question of what should be the proper relationship between church and state. Kabala examines this debate across six decades and shows that an understanding of this period is not possible without appreciating the key role religion played in the formation of the nation. Americans of the Early Republic devoted close attention to the question of what should be the proper relationship between church and state. This issue engaged participants from all religions, denominations and party affiliations. Kabala examines this debate across six decades and shows that an understanding of this period is not possible without appreciating the key role religion played in the formation of the nation. Review: 'This superb account of church-state relations during the most tumultuous years of American Christendom reveals that our present disputes over the separation of church and state are nothing new. Kabala's deeply researched book contains the fullest and clearest summary that we have of the bitter struggles during the six decades following 1780 that led to the Protestant non-sectarian consensus of the 1840s.' Gordon Wood, Brown University