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Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

Susan Jacoby

Paperback | Pages: 370 pages

Rating: 4.05 | 4390 Users | 192 Reviews

Present Containing Books Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

Title	:	Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
Author	:	Susan Jacoby
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 370 pages
Published	:	January 1st 2005 by Holt McDougal (first published April 5th 2004)
Categories	:	History. Nonfiction. Religion. Philosophy. Atheism. Politics. North American Hi.... American History

Representaion Concering Books Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

"Jacoby accomplishes her task with clarity, thoroughness, and an engaging passion."
-Los Angeles Times Book Review

At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby traces more than two hundred years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution. Moving from nineteenth-century abolitionism and suffragism through the twentieth century's civil liberties, civil rights, and feminist movements, Freethinkers illuminates the neglected achievements of secularists who, allied with tolerant believers, have led the battle for reform in the past and today.

Rich with such iconic figures as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Paine, and the once-famous Robert Green Ingersoll, Freethinkers restores to history the passionate humanists who struggled against those who would undermine the combination of secular government and religious liberty that is the glory of the American system.

Mention Books To Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

Original Title:	Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
ISBN:	0805077766 (ISBN13: 9780805077766)
Edition Language:	English

Rating Containing Books Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

Ratings: 4.05 From 4390 Users | 192 Reviews

Assess Containing Books Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

If anything, this book is a bit dated (it was published in 2004), but the issues the author details about debates regarding the separation of church and state are still relevant today. As someone who often aligns more with a secular approach to most issues, this book is refreshing and inspiring in its journey through the secular history of the United States and its focus on the well-known (like Jefferson and Lincoln) and the less well-know (like Thomas Paine and Robert Ingersoll) as a very

This is an excellent and fair history of American secularism. Susan Jacoby reclaims American history from the religious right. She writes of freethinkers, deists, atheists, agnostics and other dissenters and their involvement in the drafting of the constitution, the abolition and suffragist movements, the progressive and freethinker movements, and the attacks on secularism from the red scare, the Scopes Trial and McCarthyism. This is a great book for those that have bought the lie that the US is

Excellent introductory history. I feel cheated that I never learned about the contributions of Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Lucretia Mott in more than a glossed-over fashion in my American history studies, nor of Robert Green Ingersoll at all. These people, along with a host of better-known names such as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, as well as other lesser-knowns, had the courage of their convictions despite the social pressures of living in an overtly religious society. One point Jacoby's

I'm taking a break from this book. It's not long, but it's been kind of a slog for me, and I have trouble getting very far at a stretch. The information is relatively interesting, but the writing seems to wander around, almost verging on "filler" at times. It also has the timbre of a condescending talk-radio monologue; it's sprinkled with asides that might have been framed as interesting comparisons, but instead come across as prissy freshman self-righteousness. I might finish it later, maybe

This book was a shock to me in many ways. I was unaware of the very early opposition to the godless constitution of the United States. Quite unrealistically, I had thought the cultural wars debating the role of religion in government and the role of government in religion originated in the 20th century.The book also introduced me to the works of Col. Robert Ingersoll, who seems to be an amazing speaker on the topics of religion, government, and liberty. I am quite appreciative that I have found

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I cannot overstate how insightful, useful and dare I say, necessary Freethinkers truly is. Not only does Jacoby lay out the best defense of secular values that has ever been written (with the possible exception of the Constitution itself), but she also offers an extremely thorough account of American history through the vision of some of Americas most important figures from the past and present. It is strange to think, how even the late-nineteenth

I get so weary of hearing people say that the United States of America is a Christian nation. It is not. Freethinkers explains this essential fact in an interesting fashion. Susan Jacoby chronicles secularist thought from the revolutionary period until the present, bringing it to life by profiling Americans like Bob Ingersoll, "The Great Agnostic."I strongly recommend this book to everyone. Those who believe that the USA is a Christian nation will learn that it is not; those who know the truth