The origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of Jefferson's famous remark-"wall of separation between church and state" No phrase in American letters has had a more profound influence on church-state law, policy, and discourse than Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state," and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced in an 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, Jefferson's "wall" is accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution's church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law. Despite the enormous influence of the "wall" metaphor, almost no scholarship has investigated the text of the Danbury letter, the context in which it was written, or Jefferson's understanding of his famous phrase. Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy.

The church-state debate currently alive in our courts and legislatures is strikingly similar to that of the 1830s. A secular drift in American culture and the role of religion in a pluralistic society were concerns that dominated the controversy then, as now. In Religion and Politics in the Early Republic, Daniel L. Dreisbach compellingly argues that the issues in our current debate were framed in earlier centuries by documents crucial to an understanding of church-state relations, the First Amendment, and our present concern with the constitutional role of religion in American public life. Reflection on this national discussion of more than 150 years ago casts light on both past and future relations between church and state in America. In an 1833 sermon, "The Relation of Christianity to Civil Government in the United States," the Reverend Jasper Adams of Charleston, South Carolina, an eminent educator and moral philosopher, offered valuable insight into the social and political forces that shaped church-state relations in his time. Adams argued that the Christian religion is indis-pensable to social order and national prosperity. Although he opposed the establishment of a state church, he believed that a Christian ethic should inform all civil, legal, and political institutions. Adams's remarkably prescient discourse anticipated the emergence of a dominant secular culture and its inevitable conflict with the formerly ascendant religious establishment. His treatise was the first major work from the embattled religious traditionalists controverting Thomas Jefferson's vision of a secular polity and strict church-state separation. Eager to confirm his analysis, Adams sent copies of the sermon to scores of leading intellectuals and public figures of his day. In this volume, Dreisbach brings together for the first time Adams's sermon, a critical review of the treatise, and transcripts of previously unpublished letters written in response to it by James Madison, John Marshall, Joseph Story, and J.S. Richardson. These letters provide a rare glimpse into the minds of several influential statesmen and jurists who were central in shaping the republic and its institutions. The Story and Madison letters are among their authors1 final and most perceptive pronouncements on church-state relations. The documents that Dreisbach has assembled in this edition provide a vivid portrait of early nineteenth-century thought on the constitutional role of religion in public life. Our ongoing national discussion of this topic is illuminated by the debate encapsulated in these pages.

"Excellent introduction to the thorny interpretive issues that continue to grow around Jefferson's wall."--"The Journal of Southern History"

a On an evaluative note, the book is helpful for gaining an understanding of the historical context of Jefforsonas metaphor.a
--Journal of Church and State

"In the opinion of this reviewer, Dreisbach is undeniably correct. His research is thorough, and his analysis comports with the history of the period. Dreisbach's study of Jefferson's likely meaning when he utilized the phrase "wall of separation" makes a valuable contribution to an important area of the constitutional law, an area of great consequence to Christians. The fact that it is written by a law professor at a "top twenty" law school increases its significance and credibility in the scholar world. The book has a minimum of legal jargon and can easily be understood. Daniel Dreisbach's book is highly recommended."--"Faith and Mission"

"Daniel Dreisbach's book is a welcome and much needed addition to the scholarship on the First Amendment. Dreisbach analysis of Jefferson's metaphor, its political context, and consequences for church-state jurisprudence, provide an intellectual perspective as the Court and nation reconsider issues of accomodations of religion in the public square."--"Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies"

"The book plausibly argues that scholars have seen too secular a Jefferson."
--" Perspectives on Political Science"

"Dreisbach's new book makes an important contribution to church-state scholarship by elaborating both the circumstances surrounding Jefferson's original use of this metaphor and its introduction into modern constitutionaldiscourse."
--"The Virginia Magazine"

"This is an excellent, eloquent book about a metaphor on the uses and pitfalls of metaphors in legal discourse, and on the meaning of the very brief words in the First Amendment."
--"Catholic Historical Review"

"Dreisbach argues convincingly that federalism constituted a key aspect of Jefferson's reply to the Danbury Baptists."
--"Journal of the Early Republic"

"" Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation" is the product of Dreisbach's solid, extensive research, much of it hidden away in valuable notes. He writes in a direct, clear style, with hints of humor."
--" The Review of Politics"

"[A] vigorous critique of separationist dogmas"
--"Christianity Today"

"Both the sources themselves, and the extensive notes on the secondary literature make the book a 'must read' for anyone interested in the continued impact of Jefferson's metaphor upon the constitutional and legal interpretations of religion and its role in the contemporary United Sates."
--"Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

"Scholars recently have taken a new look at the historical foundations of the Establishment Clause. . . . "Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State" is a valuable contribution to that debate."
--"Harvard Journal of Law &Public Policy"

"Dreisbach offers an in-depth study into what Jefferson meant by the 'wall of separation between church and state' and claims that the extent of the wall was to prohibit Congress from establishing a national state church."
--"Conscience"

"Dreisbach examines the letter and its historical context and concludes that Jefferson might not agree with therestrictive way the courts today have interpreted his phrase."
--"Houston Chronicle"

"Now we know when secularists refer to Jefferson's "wall," they're speaking from ignorance. In short, they are advocating Black's wall
--a wall of imprisonment and censorship, not Jefferson's, which was a wall of protection."
--"Citizen"

"Excellent . . . Dreisbach makes a persuasive case."
--"Catalyst"

""Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State" offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy"
--"American Vision"

"Daniel L. Driesbach's "Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State"provides important historical analysis."
--"World"

"Daniel Dreisbach, a professor at American University, has now written a valuable history of the "wall of separation" metaphor...[a] superb book."
--"Claremont Review of Books"

"[This] book clearly explains that the purpose of the First Amendment's "establishment" clause was to leave the individual states free to decide for themselves how to integrate religion with government."
--"Chronicles"

"Dreisbach offers a fascinating and thorough account of Jefferson's understanding of the metaphor...and has provided the legal community with a valuable service in bringing together the documentary evidence for Jefferson's understanding of the "wall of separation," along with careful and transparent commentary on what the evidence means."
--"The Law and Politics Book Review"

No phrase in American letters has had a more profound influence on church-state law, policy, and discourse thanThomas Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state," and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced in an 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, Jefferson's "wall" is accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution's church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law.

Despite the enormous influence of the "wall" metaphor, almost no scholarship has investigated the text of the Danbury letter, the context in which it was written, or Jefferson's understanding of his famous phrase. Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy.

This interdisciplinary volume brings together essays on eleven of the founders of the American republic--Abigail Adams, Samuel Adams, Oliver Ellsworth, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Thomas Paine, Edmund Randolph, Benjamin Rush, Roger Sherman, and Mercy Otis Warren--many of whom are either little recognized today or little appreciated for their contributions. The essays focus on the thinking of these men and women on the proper role of religion in public life, including but not limited to the question of the separation of church and state. Their views represent a wide range of opinions, from complete isolation of church and state to tax-supported clergy.

These essays present a textured and nuanced view of the society that came to a consensus on how religion would fit in the public life of the new nation. They reveal that religion was more important in the lives and thinking of many of the founders than is often portrayed and that it took the interplay of disparate and contrasting views to frame the constitutional outline that eventually emerged.

"For more than a decade these three editors, separately and together, have led us to a more nuanced view of the central place of religion in the American founding era. Not only were the political views of famous founders like Adams, Jefferson, and Madison more dependent on religion than their modern secular caricature allows. But many other figures, from varying religious traditions, proved equally critical to forging the original American understanding of constitutional order, democratic liberty, and rule of law. This well-crafted volume introduces a dozen such founding figures and the sterling political accomplishments that they offered the young nation on the strength of their religious convictions." --John Witte, Jr., Emory University

"This excellent collection explores the rich diversity of the American mind at the Founding by attending to the spiritual, political, and intellectual convictions of a dozen men and women prominent in the events of that seminal period but relatively neglected by the historians. It fills a major gap left In the literature with its conventional fixation on the life and work of a handful of luminaries. In doing so, it takes seriously the role of religion in grounding devotion to Whig liberty and common law constitutionalism to form a popular consensus that has endured from 1776 until today. Highly readable and thoroughly sourced, this is a book for anyone interested in American history and politics." --Ellis Sandoz, Moyse Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Louisiana State University

"This collection of well-crafted essays probes the "religion and the founding" question from a fresh angle. Its concentration on the second rank of founders pays rich dividends, since this focus uncovers more variety on religious issues than appear when looking only at the "Big Six" of Washington-Franklin-John Adams-Madison-Hamilton-Jefferson. The pay off is to show not only how deep but also how various were the founders' religious commitments. Historians, but also those concerned about religion in contemporary American politics, should take note--the editors have done a very fine job." --Mark Noll, University of Notre Dame

"There is no book comparable to "The Forgotten Founders on Religion and Public Life." It is a collection of eleven essays on the many neglected figures or, in some cases, the neglected church-state views of duly appreciated figures. The book's appeal goes beyond the realm of constitutional doctrine. In addition to constitutional lawyers, constitutional historians, historians of religion in America, and those who study American political thought will all welcome and value the book." --Gerard V. Bradley, University of Notre Dame Law School