Endowed by Our Creator: The Birth of Religious Freedom in America

by Michael Meyerson

Rejecting the extreme arguments of today's debates, the author examines what the framers of the Constitution actually said about religious freedom

The debate over the framers’ concept of freedom of religion has become heated and divisive. This scrupulously researched book sets aside the half-truths, omissions, and partisan arguments, and instead focuses on the actual writings and actions of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and others. Legal scholar Michael I. Meyerson investigates how the framers of the Constitution envisioned religious freedom and how they intended it to operate in the new republic. Endowed by Our Creator shows that the framers understood that the American government should not acknowledge religion in a way that favors any particular creed or denomination. Nevertheless, the framers believed that religion could instill virtue and help to unify a diverse nation. They created a spiritual public vocabulary, one that could communicate to all—including agnostics and atheists—that they were valued members of the political community. Through their writings and their decisions, the framers affirmed that respect for religious differences is a fundamental American value. Now it is for us, Meyerson concludes, to determine whether religion will be used to alienate and divide or to inspire and unify our religiously diverse nation.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

383 pages, Hardcover

First published May 29, 2012

About the author

I am a Professor of Law and Piper & Marbury Faculty Fellow at the University of Baltimore, specializing in constitutional law and American legal history.

I received my B.A. from Hampshire College in 1976 and my law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1979. I also studied at Middlebury College and am still proud that I graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. One of the most important lessons I learned at Hampshire College was the value of interdisciplinary work. As an undergraduate, I was an American Studies major, which meant that I was able to study history, literature, economics, and political science and see how they all fit together. At law school, I had the opportunity to study with George Haskins, a leading legal historian, as well as with Constitutional Law scholar Paul Bender. Both of them taught me that law, in its proper context, could be beautiful and exciting. As a law student, I also was fortunate to be able to work with two brilliant and caring lawyers, Will Hellerstein, then at the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Appeals Bureau in New York City, and Joel Gora, then Associate Legal Director with the American Civil Liberties Union. [Interestingly, both are now on the faculty of Brooklyn Law School]. While supervising my writing a brief seeking to overturn a murder conviction, Will showed me that constitutional rights can only be protected if we understand their history – where they came from, why they were created, and why they were so valued. Joel, who supervised my internship at the ACLU, continually demonstrated how legal decisions can affect the lives of ordinary people.

I have written two books,Liberty’s Blueprint: How Madison and Hamilton Wrote The Federalist Papers, Defined the Constitution, and Made Democracy Safe for the World Liberty's Blueprint and Political Numeracy: Mathematical Perspectives on Our Chaotic Constitution Political Numeracy. I am also co-author, with Dan Brenner and Monroe Price, of a treatise on cable television law, Cable Television and Other Nonbroadcast Media (Thomson West 1990 plus annual updates).

I have also written many scholarly law review articles and book chapters. My favorites include, “The Irrational Supreme Court,” in the Nebraska Law Review, “Virtual Constitutions: The Creation of Rules for Governing Private Networks,” in the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, and “The Pre-history of the Prior Restraint Doctrine: Rediscovering the Link between the First Amendment and the Separation of Powers,” in the Indiana Law Review.

I am married and live in Maryland.

Reviews

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enlightening look at the understanding of religious freedom in the United States, its origins, or NON-origins in colonial laws and life, and the inspired thinkers who framed the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. By providing a thorough analysis of the thinking, intent, and process of the framing generation, the author points out strengths and fallacies in modern thinking on this topic.

Who knew we have a Baptist minister to thank for ahead-of-his-time thinking on the topic of abolishing governmental support and establishment of religion? And who knew that Massachusetts was the very last state to end funding for this sort of thing, and that it took them many years to do so?

This book is scholarly and was heavy going at times for this non-lawyer, but in the end was very rewarding reading.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really informative book. I learned a lot about the early history of religious freedom in America that helped me better understand the complexities involved. This book was a valuable addition to my self-education on religious freedom.