Charts the slow, and often fiercely contested, movement toward freedom of religion, which allow individuals to believe and worship as their conscience dictates. Featuring many vivid, first-hand accounts, it includes detailed information on the people and events that have changed history. It also explains where, and why, these campaigns for change continue today.

The founders of the United States overcame religious intolerance in favor of a constitutional order dedicated to fair treatment for people's deeply held conscientious beliefs. This respect for religious difference, scholar Nussbaum writes, formed our democracy. Yet today there are signs that this legacy is misunderstood. The prominence of a particular type of Christianity in our public life suggests the unequal worth of citizens who hold different...

Describes the history of religious freedom issues in America since the sixteenth century, including Puritanism and anti-semitism.