Source: Law & Liberty
by Daniel N Gullotta
“What is the United States’ greatest achievement? Winning World War II? Landing a man on the moon? Hollywood’s global reach? For Dartmouth College historian and Episcopal priest Randall Balmer, all these accomplishments pale in comparison to a less celebrated but more enduring breakthrough: the separation of church and state. Few ideas, he argues, have done more to preserve both religious vitality and civic peace. In America’s Best Idea, Balmer offers a spirited defense of this foundational principle, contending that the First Amendment’s twin guarantees — no establishment of religion and free exercise thereof — have made the United States a uniquely fertile ground for religious pluralism and, in turn, a more virtuous and democratic citizenry.” (08/29/25)