Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses

Vincent Phillip Muñoz's book "Religious Liberty and the American Founding" offers a fresh perspective on the First Amendments protection of religious freedom, arguing that it is an inalienable natural right and that a minimalist church-state jurisprudence would return authority to the American people.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 23 August 2022
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

The Founders of the United States held a profound belief in the inalienable natural right of religious freedom. In his insightful book, "Religious Liberty and the American Founding," Vincent Phillip Muñoz delves into the intricate implications of this concept for church-state constitutional law. Through a meticulous examination of early state constitutions, declarations of religious freedom, Founding-era debates, and the drafting record of the First Amendment, Muñoz unravels the original meanings of the Religion Clauses and constructs a robust jurisprudence of religious liberty.

Muñoz's analysis reveals that adhering to the Founders' political philosophy would yield a minimalist church-state jurisprudence, which, in most cases, would restore authority from the judiciary to the American people. This approach stands in contrast to the often-conflated notions of consistently conservative or consistently liberal outcomes. Instead, it seeks to strike a balance between protecting religious freedom and preserving the democratic principles upon which the United States was founded.

Religious Liberty and the American Founding is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the Founders' political philosophy of religious freedom and the First Amendment Religion Clauses. Muñoz's comprehensive and convincing scholarship provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about the role of religion in public life and the delicate balance between religious liberty and other constitutional values.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226821443