9/21/08
REC section 006, Wahl
In Steven Waldman's Founding Faith
, pages 1-106 and 188-205, the author asserts that both the
right and the left, when citing the Founding Fathers in debates over religion, are wrong. However, he
mentions that both sides have “keen insights”, despite their propagation of myths. I feel that most of the
points Waldman makes show that the Founding Fathers were quite religious, but believed more in the
concepts of spirituality and morality rather than there being one particular faith that is right, which was
uncommon for that time. This stance is rather neutral, as it cedes facts to both sides, but I do agree. It
would be almost impossible for one viewpoint to be one hundred percent correct, and depending on the
sources that are used, it is easy to “spin” history in favor of one's point of view.
Benjamin Franklin was, according to the author, quite religious – contrary to what many may
believe, that he was an atheist. In fact, he was a great supporter of the Great Awakening. However, he
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- Fall '08
- Zimmerman
- Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, good works, Steven Waldman, new Deist beliefs
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