The Lustre of Our Country: The American Experience of Religious Freedom

About this book

A New York Times Notable Book This remarkable work offers a fresh approach to a freedom that is often taken for granted in the United States yet is one of the strongest and proudest elements of American culture: religious freedom. In this compellingly written distinctively personal book Judge John T. Noonan asserts that freedom of religion as James Madison conceived it is an American invention previously unknown to any nation on earth. The Lustre of Our Country demonstrates how the idea of religious liberty is central to the American experience and to American influence around the world. Noonans original book is a history of the idea of religious liberty and its relationship with the law. He begins with an intellectual autobiography describing his own religious and legal training. After setting the stage with autobiography Noonan turns to history with each chapter written in a new voice. One chapter takes the form of a catechism (questions and answers) presenting the history of the idea of religious freedom in Christianity and the American colonies. Another chapter on James Madison argues that Madisons support of religious freedom was not purely secular but rather the outcome of his own religious beliefs. A fictional sister of Alexis de Toqueville writes contrary to her brothers work that the U.S. government is very closely tied to religion. Other chapters offer straightforward considerations of constitutional law. Throughout the book Noonan shows how the free exercise of religion led to profound changes in American lawhe discusses abolition temperance and civil rightsand how the legal notion of religious liberty influenced revolutionary France Japan and Russia as well as the Catholic Church during Vatican II. The Lustre of Our Country is a celebration of religious freedoma personal and profound statement on what the author considers Americas greatest moral contribution to the world.