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While we are solving some technical difficulty problems, please enjoy this “blast from the past,” as Prof. Steven Pfaff interviews me about my work on the origins of religious liberty.

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Mark David Hall returns for his fourth stint on Research on Religion’s July 4th celebration with yet more interesting insights into religious during the U.S. revolutionary era. This time Mark discusses the role played by religious minorities including Jews, Quakers, Baptists, and even Muslims.

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For the past two and a half years, Tony Gill has interviewed over 135 guests on this podcast. Today, Prof. Steve Pfaff takes over as guest host and interviews Tony about his recent book, “The Political Origins of Religious Liberty.” We discuss what religious liberty is and why a government would ever want to allow religious groups to have greater freedom. Tony emphasizes the political and economic motivations behind “deregulating the religious marketplace”, including the need to attract immigrants, promote free trade, and generate economic growth and tax revenue. We focus attention on colonial American history, but also discuss religious freedom in Russia, China, Mexico, Chile and a few other places. This interview is a great complement to other podcasts we have had on the topic of religious liberty, and an opportunity to see what your weekly host is really thinking about!

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Prof. Allen Hertzke of the University of Oklahoma joins us to discuss religious liberty around the world. We cover why religious liberty has become an increasingly important issue in foreign affairs and why many intellectual and government elites tend to dismiss its importance. The conversation also includes current threats to religious freedoms in many parts of the world and what positive effects might arise from the spread of religious liberties.

Learn more about this topic by clicking “read more” below. We have links to valuable reading material and additional podcasts!

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Douglas Baker (Union University) clarifies the recent debate surrounding “Dominionism” and its relation to various Republican presidential candidates, most notably Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. He covers the influence of thinkers such as Francis Schaeffer and Rousas John Rushdoony and how their thought has influenced others, as well as how their thinking has been misrepresented in the popular media. We also reflect on the proper role of religion in the public square.

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Just in time for July 4th, Mark David Hall discusses one of the least known of the most influential Founding Fathers in American history, Roger Sherman. Building on last week’s theme, Prof. Hall uses Roger Sherman to illustrate how Reformed (Calvinist) theology had a profound influence on American ideals and institutions. Roger Sherman, a staunch Calvinist from Connecticut, figured prominently in the formulation of several critical documents in US history, including the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution (including the Bill of Rights). Prof. Hall also reflects upon the question of whether or not America was founded as a Christian nation.

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George Fox University political scientist Mark David Hall examines how various Founding Fathers viewed church-state relations in their time, and how modern Supreme Court justices interpret their writings. Some recent court cases are discussed. (To download, right click on the button to the right and choose “save target as….”)

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