In God We Trust: Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?

Summary

In God We Trust invites listeners to think and reflect critically about the truths and complexities of the role of religion and the founding of America in order to separate history from political ideology and to understand why this distinction matters for the future of our nation and democracy.

Both supporters of Christian nationalism and those who oppose it often pick and choose pieces of American history to support their own political and cultural views. Some supporters of Christian nationalism promote the idea that God and country are inseparable by claiming that the founders were devout evangelical Christians, that the nation's founding documents were explicitly Christian, or that the separation of church and state is a modern invention. Meanwhile, critics of Christian nationalism sometimes come to the opposite conclusion, assuming that because the Constitution does not mention God and because the First Amendment separates church and state, the founders believed religion had little or no role in the success of the new Republic.

With clarity and balance, history professor John Fea challenges popular myths on all sides―showing why claims that the founders were devout evangelicals, that America was explicitly founded as a uniquely Christian nation, or that religion played no role in the original vision of the Republic all miss the mark. Instead, he presents a richer, more nuanced account of religion and American history that honors the complexity of the founding era and explains why historical literacy matters for the health of our democracy today.