"In the Hands of a Good Providence": Religion in the Life of George Washington

Ihompson does not consider the critical political role of the Virginia House of Burgesses Committee on Religion in addressing not just the viability of the established Anglican Church hut also the challenge from Presbyterians and Baptists, a pivotal strategic move through which the ruling elite demo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of American History 2010, Vol.96 (4), p.1167-1168
Main Author: Longmore, Paul K.
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Anglican churches
Politics
Religion
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Ihompson does not consider the critical political role of the Virginia House of Burgesses Committee on Religion in addressing not just the viability of the established Anglican Church hut also the challenge from Presbyterians and Baptists, a pivotal strategic move through which the ruling elite demonstrated its political suppleness. [...] while Thompson explains the centrality of "providence" in Washington's understanding of the American revolutionary historical process and his role in it, his awareness of his contemporaries' perception of him as a providentially ordained historical actor, and his own support ot efforts to promoie religion and moralité as essential elements in building republican civic virtue and national unity, she does not explore his belief in American civic religion and his deliberate participation in its invention.
ISSN:0021-8723
1936-0967
1945-2314
DOI:10.1093/jahist/96.4.1167