Examines the origins, assumptions, and consequences of three major concepts in American religious history: the Puritan judgement of human nature, the Enlightenment disestablishment of religion, and the definition of truth of American Pragmatism. The lives and beliefs of Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Jefferson, and William James fully characterize these three mainstream religious principIes. ln unique counterpoint, the Carmodys bring into the discussion the many religious and secular groups that were not, and still are not, part of the primarily white, Protestant, male historical tradition: Catholic... continue