Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Carol Ann Strahl:
This is a provocative and interesting look at the religious tenets our founding fathers espoused.
In 1776, only 17% of Americans officially belonged to a church. A favorite of the founding fathers was John Locke whose creed was "government should leave religion alone and religion should return the courtesy." Allen's research finds "Ours is, or at least was originally designed to be a Lockean state."
Allen shares some of the personal behaviors and thoughts of Franklin, Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton when it came to religion. Most of the framers of the Constitution were Deists who did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, heaven, hell or revelation. They believed a "power" or "providence" created the world but did not take an active role in its day to day activities.
America was planned to be an enlightened ideal and a place of asylum against fanaticism. This provocative book may make some readers uncomfortable with the real faith history of our early leaders. I found Moral Minority a well-written, investigatory journey into our early governmental origins.
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The religious fundamentalists have distorted history in their false claim we are a Christian nation. The founding fathers made clear their intent was to protect the right of the individual to pursue their own path and to protect that individual from the tyranny of religous fanatics. Separation of church and state was intended to protect all religious expression from government and in turn to protect all citizens and our government from religious interference.