The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution
In twenty-fi rst-century America, religion seems to go hand in hand with veneration of the Constitution and its framers. Devout believers overwhelmingly endorse the view that the Constitution should be interpreted “as originally written.†Socially conservative politicians promise to oppose the n...
| Main Author: | JOHN W. COMPTON |
|---|---|
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | Bahasa Inggris |
| Published: |
Harvard University Press
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
http://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52522 |
| id |
oai:lib.umy.ac.id:52522 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
oai:lib.umy.ac.id:525222021-06-16T13:06:21ZThe Evangelical Origins of the Living ConstitutionJOHN W. COMPTONReligion and law—United States—History, Evangelicalism— United States—History—19th century, Constitutional law—United States—History, United States—Religion, Church and state—United StatesIn twenty-fi rst-century America, religion seems to go hand in hand with veneration of the Constitution and its framers. Devout believers overwhelmingly endorse the view that the Constitution should be interpreted “as originally written.†Socially conservative politicians promise to oppose the nomination of judges who are not “dedicated to the original document and its original meaning.†And every year, dozens of books portraying the founders as orthodox Christian believers and the Constitution as divinely inspired appear in bookstores.1 As natural as it may seem today, however, the connection between religious faith and constitutional faith is a relatively recent development. In fact, for much of American history prominent religious activists were almost as likely to condemn the Constitution as to praise it. In 1843, for example, the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison read the Constitution’s fugitive slave clause as evidence that the Founding generation had entered into “a covenant with death and an agreement with hell.†Carrying this belief to its logical conclusion, Garrison and other abolitionists burned copies of the Constitution in public meetings.2 And while the Garrisonians’ sensationalist methods were widely condemned, their willingness to subject the Constitution to moral criticism was far from atypical. Indeed, religiously motivated opponents of drinking, lottery gambling, and Sabbath-breaking were equally convinced that the nation’s constitutional system suff ered from fl aws that threatened to undermine the moral health of the republic. In the words of New Hampshire Senator Henry Blair, a leading Gilded Age prohibitionist, the Constitution was “the great legal fortress of intemperance†and “the great almighty obstacle in the way of . . . reform.â€3 Signifi cantly, Blair and other nineteenth-century evangelicals did not believe, as many modern-day social conservatives do, that judges or elected offi cials had adopted a fl awed interpretation of the nation’s fundamental law. Rather, like Garrison, they laid responsibility for the nation’s woes directly at the feet of the Founding generation.Harvard University Press2014eBookebook 278Bahasa Inggrishttp://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52522 |
| institution |
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta |
| collection |
Perpustakaan Yogyakarta |
| language |
Bahasa Inggris |
| topic |
Religion and law—United States—History, Evangelicalism— United States—History—19th century, Constitutional law—United States—History, United States—Religion, Church and state—United States |
| spellingShingle |
Religion and law—United States—History, Evangelicalism— United States—History—19th century, Constitutional law—United States—History, United States—Religion, Church and state—United States JOHN W. COMPTON The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution |
| description |
In twenty-fi rst-century America, religion seems to go hand in hand with veneration
of the Constitution and its framers. Devout believers overwhelmingly
endorse the view that the Constitution should be interpreted “as originally
written.†Socially conservative politicians promise to oppose the nomination
of judges who are not “dedicated to the original document and its original
meaning.†And every year, dozens of books portraying the founders as orthodox
Christian believers and the Constitution as divinely inspired appear in
bookstores.1
As natural as it may seem today, however, the connection between religious
faith and constitutional faith is a relatively recent development. In fact,
for much of American history prominent religious activists were almost as
likely to condemn the Constitution as to praise it. In 1843, for example, the
abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison read the Constitution’s fugitive slave
clause as evidence that the Founding generation had entered into “a covenant
with death and an agreement with hell.†Carrying this belief to its logical conclusion,
Garrison and other abolitionists burned copies of the Constitution in
public meetings.2 And while the Garrisonians’ sensationalist methods were
widely condemned, their willingness to subject the Constitution to moral
criticism was far from atypical. Indeed, religiously motivated opponents of
drinking, lottery gambling, and Sabbath-breaking were equally convinced
that the nation’s constitutional system suff ered from fl aws that threatened to
undermine the moral health of the republic. In the words of New Hampshire
Senator Henry Blair, a leading Gilded Age prohibitionist, the Constitution was “the great legal fortress of intemperance†and “the great almighty obstacle
in the way of . . . reform.â€3 Signifi cantly, Blair and other nineteenth-century
evangelicals did not believe, as many modern-day social conservatives do, that
judges or elected offi cials had adopted a fl awed interpretation of the nation’s
fundamental law. Rather, like Garrison, they laid responsibility for the nation’s
woes directly at the feet of the Founding generation. |
| format |
eBook |
| author |
JOHN W. COMPTON |
| author_sort |
JOHN W. COMPTON |
| title |
The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution |
| title_short |
The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution |
| title_full |
The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution |
| title_fullStr |
The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution |
| title_sort |
evangelical origins of the living constitution |
| publisher |
Harvard University Press |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52522 |
| isbn |
ebook 278 |
| _version_ |
1702748763773206528 |
| score |
14.79448 |