Religion and Politics in the Thought of James Madison
According to the author, James Madison, a major architect of American constitutional government, operated from a deep Christian commitment & perspective. First, Madison's family background & education are described, which provided him with Christian theology, republican political theory, & the Calvinist notion of work (in his case a political career) as divine calling. Examples of his historical shifts between Lockean liberal & classical republican ideologies, often viewed as inconsistent, are attributed to his Christian worldview. For him, the main goal of religious freedom was to serve the cause of Christian evangelism. Finally, examples of religious perspective in "The Federalist Papers" & examples of Christian language in his political writings are given. D. Miller