Author William Everett examines the role of religious traditions in the development of modern federal republicanism, seeking answers to such questions as: How have patterns of religious organization shaped federal republican orders? How do different cultures weave together these political and religious threads into a living fabric that fits their own cultural heritage?

How are Western religious traditions of covenant and conciliarism relevant for understanding religion and constitutional developments in non-Western cultures? The author argues that a better comparative grasp of these dynamics is essential to our understanding of the establishment, sustenance, and development of federal republican governance. He presents, as a first step toward this goal, a detailed and comparative study of these patterns in India, Germany, and the United States.