Colonial Counterfactuals, the American Separationist Mindset, and Open-Minded Discourse on the Establishment Clause

This work first develops the idea of an American Separationist Mindset—a deeply rooted and often unthinking supposition that strict separation church state is only defensible church-state arrangement under Establishment Clause United States Constitution. Such a Mindset can make arguments for religious accommodationism difficult to be assessed openmindedly in contemporary constitutional discourse. The essay next surveys potential counterfactual history topics long thought settled weaken prevailing views treasured interpretations so allow greater critical engagement with alternative assessments. turn deploys reconstruction Maryland’s colonial Anglican establishment. account imagines founding vision establishment Anglicanism developed by Rev. Thomas Bray as having been sustained. cogency this assist discourse weakening prejudicial Mindset.