A Republic of Righteousness

Download or read book A Republic of Righteousness written by Jonathan D Sassi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-10-11 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the debate over the connection between religion and public life in society during the fifty years following the American Revolution. Sassi challenges the conventional wisdom, finding an essential continuity to the period's public Christianity, whereas most previous studies have seen this period as one in which the nation's cultural paradigm shifted from republicanism to liberal individualism. Focusing on the Congregational clergy of New England, he demonstrates that throughout this period there were Americans concerned with their corporate destiny, retaining a commitment to constructing a righteous community and assessing the cosmic meaning of the American experiment.