Princeton University Press has recently published a splendid collection
edited by James H. Hutson entitled The Founders on Religion: A Book of
Quotations.  At more than 200 pp., it is far more _substantial_ than the
usual run of quotation books - both in size and in its editorial/research
dimensions.  The familiar quotes are here from the familiar voices - but
Hutson has unearthed great commentary by lots of founders we don't usually
hear from (Charle Carroll, Elias Boudinot, John Jay) and from manuscript
sources as well as the familiar published ones.
  I've been reading a few pages every morning - and its fascinating.
Hutson organized the book by subjects, ranging - from Addiction,
Afterlife, and Age - through Creeds, Crime and Death - to Virgin Mary,
War and Women. With many subjects in between those mentioned.
  Its not a perfect book -- the preface is a bit pedantic and certainly
not as effective as it might be and a few founders (John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson) _seem_ slightly over-represented -- but the quotes
themselves are really worth reading : among other things, they
demonstrate that the founders's personal opinions and religious beliefs
were all over the map - and that, whatever their personal convictions,
many of them were very sophisticated about theological matters and
implications - in a way that seems quite lacking in today's polity.

Jon Kukla

"When will Mankind be convinced that true Religion is from the Heart,
between Man and his Creator and not the Imposition of] Man or creeds or
tests." - Abigail Adams to a daughter Jan 3 1818 from microfilm at Library
of Congress.  Hutson op cit. p. 79

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