Nature's God
The Heretical Origins of the American Republic
13 July 2017
Description
Longlisted for the National Book Award. Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy?
America’s founders intended to liberate us not just from one king but from the ghostly tyranny of supernatural religion. Drawing deeply on the study of European philosophy, Matthew Stewart brilliantly tracks the ancient, pagan, and continental ideas from which America’s revolutionaries drew their inspiration. In the writings of Spinoza, Lucretius, and other great philosophers, Stewart recovers the true meanings of “Nature’s God,” “the pursuit of happiness,” and the radical political theory with which the American experiment in self-government began.
Reviews
"Impassioned, noble, and necessary." — Brook Wilensky-Lanford, New Republic
"[A] splendidly polemical account of the philosophy of the founding fathers." — Jonathan Ree, Prospect (UK)
"Enthralling and important… [A] pleasure to read, its often surprising conclusions supported by elegant prose." — Buzzy Jackson, Boston Globe
"Eloquently argued." — Wendy Smith, Los Angeles Times
"Impressive… refreshing." — Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal
"Brilliant… breathes fresh life into our understanding of the American Revolution. Beautifully written and lucidly argued, Nature’s God…will set the agenda for serious discussion of the American Revolution’s significance in world history." — Peter S. Onuf, author of The Mind of Thomas Jefferson
"Splendid…imaginative but never fanciful, even at its most surprising." — Alan Ryan, author of The Making of Modern Liberalism
"A lively, powerful, and erudite refutation of the myth that the framers of our secular Constitution had any intention of founding an orthodox Christian nation." — Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
Also By: Matthew Stewart 
An Emancipation of the Mind: Radical Philosophy, the War over Slavery, and the Refounding of America
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How a band of antislavery leaders recovered the radical philosophical inspirations of the first American Revolution to defeat the slaveholders’ oligarchy in the American Civil War
The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy
Paperback, 2010
"A devastating bombardment of managerial thinking and the profession of management consulting…A serious and valuable polemic." —Wall Street Journal
The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy
E Book, 2009
"A devastating bombardment of managerial thinking and the profession of management consulting…A serious and valuable polemic." —Wall Street Journal
The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World
Paperback, 2007
"Exhilarating…Stewart has achieved a near impossibility, creating a page-turner about jousting metaphysical ideas, casting thinkers as warriors." —Liesl Schillinger, New York Times Book Review
The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World
E Book, 2007
"Exhilarating…Stewart has achieved a near impossibility, creating a page-turner about jousting metaphysical ideas, casting thinkers as warriors." —Liesl Schillinger, New York Times Book Review
