Influences on Religious Liberty
American religious liberty emerged at a particular time and place in history. Law professor John Witte has helpfully characterized four different arguments that contributed to these early understandings of American religious liberty: Puritan, Evangelical, Civic Republican, and Enlightenment Liberal. Though not exhaustive and somewhat overlapping, these four arguments each played an important role in the shaping of religious liberty, and each has contemporary heirs. Two of these (Puritan and Evangelical) are primarily theological; the other two (Civic Republican and Enlightenment Liberal) are primarily political.
As you read Witte, think about which figures from our contemporary political landscape you would place in each of his categories, and also who today is left out of these categories.
John Witte, Jr., The Essential Rights and Liberties of Religion in the American Constitutional Experiment, 71 Notre Dame L. Rev. 371 (1996)
Optional Reading:
Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney” (June 26, 2015)
Elizabeth Dias, “Christianity Will Have Power,”New York Times (August 9, 2020)