“Freedom of Religion by Individual Choice” by Sarah Carpenter-Vascik is now available for purchase

AR Press is honored to publish “Freedom of Religion by Individual Choice” by Sarah Carpenter-Vascik. Get a copy of the book that is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the ARPress website.

This work aims to help the reader better understand that the Founding Fathers never intended America to be a theocracy or to have an established religion, how and why they arrived at this decision, and why it must remain a cornerstone of American democracy. This was not written as a textbook, nor was it intended to be; there are no footnotes, and almost all information can be found online except where noted.

We often hear that America’s Founding Fathers were deeply religious, but were they really? Was America meant to have a state-sponsored religion, or did they believe that all Americans have the right to worship, observe, and practice their religion their way? The Founding Fathers were from a time when many European countries had state or national religions, and as these men observed and learned about the conditions that citizens lived under, they came away with a deep understanding of what it meant as they set out to build a new country from the ground up.

This work looks closely at what these men thought and said about organized religion by making use of letters, papers, and documents written in their own hands to help the reader better understand why the country was founded without a national religion.

Reverend Sarah Carpenter was ordained in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy, received a master’s degree in biblical studies in 2000, and was awarded a Doctorate in New Testament Studies in 2006. She was awarded a Doctor of Divinity for her advocacy work in 2017. Her study of theology was in addition to her 35 years of career in clinical engineering; she retired in 2012 and is now living in Pennsylvania. Rev. Carpenter is a firm supporter of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, calling for the separation of church and state, which became part of the Constitution on December 15, 1791.

Lately, we hear more and more about how our Founding Fathers were all Christian, God-fearing men, and that America is a Christian country. Ministers across the nation proclaim this in sermons and political speeches, and politicians continually proclaim it at rallies and events, but is our country really Christian? Was it intended to be? Did the men who founded America and drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights really set out to create a nation by and for Christians, or was our fledgling country meant for people of all faiths and beliefs equally?

This book attempts to answer these questions by examining the history and events that surrounded the Founding Fathers and how this affected them. Only by hearing their own words can we really know what they envisioned as they expressed their ideas and opinions about the impact of religion when it’s interwoven in politics and government.

This work makes extensive use of letters and documents written by the Founding Fathers to reveal their personally expressed ideas and feelings about religion, ideas, and feelings that may surprise you.

“Freedom of Religion by Individual Choice” by Sarah Carpenter-Vascik is now available for purchase via ARPress Bookstore: https://authorreputationpress.com/bookstore/freedom-of-religion-by-individual-choice/.