{"product_id":"book-kgen","title":"Free Exercise","description":"CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF. Those words, scratched on parchment in 1789, open the US Constitution's First Amendment. From them, countless interpretations have been drawn. As a consequence, an astonishing variety of activities in modern America—prayer after football games, Bible reading in classrooms, company healthcare policies, the baking of wedding cakes, and Ten Commandment displays around courthouses—have been alternately authorized, prohibited, or modified.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this compelling historical account, Chris Beneke explains how the religion clauses came into existence and how they were woven into American culture. He brings prominent early national figures to life, including George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Paine, while chronicling the First Amendment's relationship to defining social conditions like slavery, civility, family life, and the free market.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGoing beyond traditional church-state scholarship, Beneke also demonstrates how white women, African Americans, Roman Catholics, Jews, and nonbelievers widened religious liberty's application and illuminated its boundaries. In doing so he makes a groundbreaking contribution to both constitutional history and the history of American pluralism.","brand":"Highbridge Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49660178596144,"sku":"BDkgen","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD","offer_id":49684655014192,"sku":"ZEkgen","price":45.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio MP3-CD","offer_id":49684655374640,"sku":"ZMkgen","price":45.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/kgen-cover.jpg?v=1765895380","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-kgen","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}