Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780300217490)

A major new biography, illuminating the great mystery of Benjamin Franklin's faith

"Kidd vividly brings Franklin's spiritual quest to life throughout his book, and he provides a direct line from Franklin's beliefs to those we see around us today."--Randy Dotinga, Christian Science Monitor

Renowned as a printer, scientist, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin also published more works on religious topics than any other eighteenth-century American layperson. Born to Boston Puritans, by his teenage years Franklin had abandoned the exclusive Christian faith of his family and embraced deism. But Franklin, as a man of faith, was far more complex than the "thorough deist" who emerges in his autobiography. As Thomas Kidd reveals, deist writers influenced Franklin's beliefs, to be sure, but devout Christians in his life--including George Whitefield, the era's greatest evangelical preacher; his parents; and his beloved sister Jane--kept him tethered to the Calvinist creed of his Puritan upbringing. Based on rigorous research into Franklin's voluminous correspondence, essays, and almanacs, this fresh assessment of a well-known figure unpacks the contradictions and conundrums faith presented in Franklin's life.

Author: Thomas S. Kidd
ISBN-10: 0300217498
ISBN-13: 9780300217490
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/23/2017
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2017 pg. 76
Library Journal 04/15/2017 pg. 95
Booklist 05/01/2017 pg. 53
Choice 11/01/2017