“Before ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ came the first American gift to the world: freedom of conscience. Without it the whole history of the nation–and of the world–might be very different, and we are lucky indeed that Steven Waldman has written this compelling and incisive study of the most fundamental and essential breakthroughs of modernity: the right to believe, or not, as one wishes. This is a great book about a monumental issue.”

–Jon Meacham, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of The Soul of America

 

“This is an important and fascinating book full of riveting stories, provocative insights, inspiring heroes, and some serious warnings. The American model of religious freedom should be the envy of the world.  But if we don’t understand how we made this great “invention,” we could easily squander the achievement.”

—Reza Aslan, author of Zealot and God: A Human History

 

“This is such a clear, valuable, and wise book…. Americans take for granted that religious liberty is one of the country’s founding principles. Sacred Liberty provides the vivid, detailed, little-known stories of the people who first defended that principle, and have continued to re-shape and revive it in dramatically changing circumstances. This book is surprising, instructive, very timely–and wise, in its closing suggestions about how secular and religious Americans alike can enhance both religion and liberty in the nation’s life.”

–James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic, co-author of the bestseller Our Towns

 

“Steven Waldman has given us an extraordinarily readable journey through a uniquely thorny landscape: America’s struggle to get religious liberty right. His heavily researched book plows a wide historical swath and plants his points deeply. Agree or not with all of his conclusions, you cannot ignore the importance of his thesis that religious freedom must be a level ground for all sincerely held religious beliefs.”

–Craig L. Parshall, conservative civil liberties attorney and author

 

“This is what we need to know about the history of religious freedom in America. It is often an uncomfortable story, frequently infuriating, sometimes inspiring, consistently challenging. Waldman draws the reader into this epic struggle with a vivid and engaging narrative.”

–Ingrid Mattson, former president of the Islamic Society of North America

 

“Well-researched and eye-opening. This compelling book is a must read for anyone whose life is impacted by the search and the fight for religious freedom. And it’s all of us whether we know it or not; whether we follow a religion or we don’t.”

–Sylviane A.  Diouf, author of Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas

 

“Americans celebrate religious liberty as one of our great national traditions. Yet we often forget how many people struggled and sacrificed so the rest of us can worship as we please. At a moment of renewed animus against minority faiths, Steven Waldman provides both a stirring defense of religious freedom and a warning against the forces that continue to threaten it. His book is a tour de force, crafted with an historian’s eye and a journalist’s flair. As Waldman reminds us, we have come a very long way in the battle for religious freedom. We must not turn back now.”

–Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of education and history, University of Pennsylvania