19th century and thereafter to say, “Indo not beheve in God.” Before thatntime “atheism or agnoshcism seemednalmost palpably absurd.” For all practicalnpurposes, America before 1800ndoes not seem to have harbored ansingle person who did not believe innGod. Thereafter, and quickly, unbeliefnemerged as a plausible choice fornmillions. Without God, withoutncreed, “the center fell out of intellectualnlife.” Although to this day mostnAmericans continue to believe in Godn(or say they do), the option of unbeliefnin itself shattered the common basis ofnthought and experience. Making Godnprivate meant that public intellectualnlife could do without Him.nThe aggressive self-assertion of manndemanding independence resulted innhis claiming the supremacy that belongednto God. When the cart is oncenpushed over the brow, there is nontelling it to stop. Doing without Godnmeant that the image which gave ordernto culture, an all-or-nothing propositionnas the First Commandment madencrystal clear, was declared redundant,nand the consequences swept throughnthe body politic like the shock waves ofnan earthquake. In considering how thenpractically universal assumption ofnGod disappeared. Turner concentratesnon Anglo-American culture, focusingnon United States Protestantism aftern1800 in particular. Since Protestantismnarose at the beginning of modernntimes, it is much closer to the dynamicnwhich produced Modernism than Catholicismnis. It more readily openednitself to the powerful currents of modernnthought as well as found its shapenin part by confronting them.nContrary to common belief, neithernscience nor social transformationsncaused unbelief; religious leaders werenthe culprits. By adapting belief to culturalnchanges and the discoveries ofnscience, “the defenders of God slowlynstrangled Him.” The history of then19th-century Protestant aggiornamentonin the United States is thenmost original aspect of Turner’s study.nBecause of Pius IX’s vigorous responsento these same forces, the Catholicnaggiornamento would be delayed for ancentury.nBefore 1500 in Europe, belief innGod was fixed in the very structure ofnthings. The estrangement from realitynnecessary to support unbelief was anpractical impossibility. With the Re­nnaissance and the Reformation camenthe application of positivism, the empiricalnway of thought. The only reliablenknowledge was that verified innexperience. Logically formulated andnexactly specified propositions satisfiednthe desire for precise knowledge—thentechnological habit of mind. Undergirdingnthese ideas was the progressivenbelief in the historical evolution ofnknowledge. The result was the rationalizingnof religion. Belief became moralizednand morality became humanized.n”I believe in nothing,” saidnLeslie Stephens, “but I do not the lessnbelieve in morality.” Benjamin Franklinnprovided the classic example of thisnmode of thought: “Vicious actions arennot hurtful because they are forbidden,nbut forbidden because they arenhurtful, the nature of man alone considered.”nThe Ten Commandments were reducednto two moral ideas, progress andnhumanitarianism. The first idea presupposednthat man had made so muchnintellectual progress that he ought notnto believe anything any longer withoutnsufficient evidence of the proper kind.nAs to the second, one need considernonly the theological flight from thenTHE UNCEVISORED GRACE (XMVBSaON STUDYnrhen the Grace Commissionnw on government waste is­nNOWAVAIUBLE!nsued its final report on membersnof Congress who block attemptsnto cut spending, it succumbed tonintense poHtical pressure andnpublished the volume with allnthe names deleted. Now thencomplete unexpurgated reportnis available in this volumecontainingnevery name from thenoriginal report along with a newnintroduction by the authors,nand a foreword by EugenenMcCarthy.nONLY $7.95 fromnlAISSEZ FAIRE BOOKSn”Porhbarrel is must reading!”n— Tom DiaznWashington TimesnThenUnexpurgatednGrace CommissionnStoiy ofnCongressionalnProfligacynby RANDALL FITZGERALD ANDnGERALD LIPSONnOrder CU1529 (paper) for $7.95 plus $1.00 postage & handling ($2.00 foreign orders)nORDER TOLL-FREE 1.-800-238-2200 ext. 500nand charge your VISA or IVlasterCardnContinental U.S. * 24 hours a day * 7 days a weekn”Porhbarrel vividly describes how theoreticalncommitments to economy are overwhelmednby parochial concerns.” _^^^^^^ ^^,^^^^nHouston PostnPlea.se send me _ _ copies of Porkbarrelntor only $7.95 each, plus $1.00 postage &nhandling ($2.00 t’oreign orders).nSend me your 32-page catalog of books onnliberty. My check or money order isnenclosed for $ .nNamenAddressnCilv _nSlate/ZipnOrder from: LAISSEZ FAIRE BOOKS, Dept. CAEn532 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 (212) 925-8992 .nMONEY BACK GUARANTEEnir for any reason you are unhappynwith your order, jusi return it withinn30 davs for a refund.nor send your order to LAISSEZ FAIRE BOOKS, Dept. CAE, 532 Bfoadway, New York, NY 10012nnnAUGUST 1986/Zn