American religious culture flourishing today is the product of influences as diverse as genetic engineering, mysticism, astrophysics, and television: Behind the information bombardment of this media age of religion can be found a very few basic ideas about God, human nature, and worship.
In The Republic of Many Mansions, John and Denise Carmody examine the origins, assumptions, and consequences of the three major concepts of American religious history: the Puritan judgment of human nature, the Enlightenment disestablishment of religion, and the definition of truth of American Pragmatism.

The lives and beliefs of three exemplary figures of American history fully characterize these three mainstream religious principles. In the early eighteenth century, the fiery and eloquent Jonathan Edwards preached the corruption of human nature. In the late eighteenth century, Thomas Jefferson, the most versatile intellectual of his day, was a beacon for the ideal of individual religious liberty. And in the nineteenth century, William James added his belief in the value of individual experience to our cultural search for truth and faith. These three formidable traditions, even though disguised in modern practices, make up much of the present configuration of American religious culture.

In counterpoint to these mainstream influences, the Carmodys consider the response of the many religious and secular groups that were not, and still are not, part of the primarily white, Protestant, male historical tradition: Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, women, African Americans, and others. The Republic of Many Mansions concludes that the future of American religious culture lies in a collective and ongoing dialogue among the many voices active in the American religious landscape.