John Fea - Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? Revised Edition: A Historical Introduction

Very few writers can take a complex subjectover two hundred years of history with bewildering, bemoaning, and belligerent claims by Americans about whether this nation is Christian or nothold it up for inspection, and make its utter complexity clear; but John Fea accomplishes this and more. Informed, judicious, insightful, and genuinely delightful.

Scot McKnight, North Park University; author of The Jesus Creed

This is a wonderful bookfascinating, timely, carefully researched, clearly written, and deeply helpful. It examines the Christian nation idea as expressed by the founders and also as it has shaped the country ever since (and still does). As a scholar, Professor Fea leaves no doubt of his disdain for those who cherry pick the historical record to support contemporary arguments. Rather, he presents such a balanced view of the hard facts that neither the Christian nation advocates nor their critics can feel totally vindicated.

Bob Abernethy, executive editor and host of PBSs Religion & Ethics Newsweekly; coeditor of The Life of Meaning

With careful research and judicious scholarship, John Fea has produced a remarkably useful guide for navigating the arguments about Americas Christian origins. His reluctance to dictate conclusions is a measure of his evenhandedness.

Randall Balmer, Barnard College; author of God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush

This is a book for readers who want a credible account of how religion affected the settlement and founding of the United States. It brings out the indisputable importance of religion without claiming more than sound historical scholarship can support. Its most original feature is the fascinating history of the long campaign to define the United States as a Christian nation.

Richard Bushman, emeritus, Columbia University; author of From Puritan to Yankee and The Refinement of America

This book is required reading for everyone interested in the question of Americas Christian originsespecially for those who think they already have the answer. If I could recommend but one source on the Christian America thesis, this would be it.

Douglas A. Sweeney, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; author of The American Evangelical Story

This is a timely book that will help make sense of one of the most important divides in American politics. John Fea does more than simply point out the shortcomings of arguments on either side of the debate over Christian America. He offers a clear and balanced reinterpretation of how this debate has shaped American culture and society for more than two hundred years.

John Wigger, University of Missouri; author of American Saint and Taking Heaven by Storm

John Feas learned and accessible study documents the surprisingly diverse views of the founders on religion and tells the fascinating story of how Americans have remembered them in later generations.

Beth Barton Schweiger, University of Arkansas; coeditor of Religion in the American South

Fea avoids the polarizing polemics of contemporary political debate over the religious beliefs of the founders and instead focuses on the revolutionary generations spirituality and the ways in which Christian faith shaped understanding during that momentous upheaval. A worthwhile read for scholars as well as the general public.

Brendan McConville, Boston University; author of The Kings Three Faces

With clarity, wisdom, and precision, John Fea probes the question posed in the title of this book. It is a complex question, yielding complex responses that are not amenable to a sound-bite culture.

Dennis P. Hollinger, President, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

John Fea has produced a carefully balanced and thought-provoking addition to the long-running debate about the role of religion in Americas founding. It is particularly strong in its treatment of the anti-Catholicism of some of the founders.

Ira Stoll, author of Samuel Adams: A Life

Was America Founded
as a Christian Nation?

Revised Edition

Was America Founded
as a Christian Nation?

Revised Edition

A Historical Introduction

John Fea

2011, 2016 John Fea

Revised edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2510 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.

Book design by Sharon Adams

Cover design by Marc Whitaker/MTWDesign.net

Cover art: The First Prayer in Congress , painted by T. H. Matteson, engraved on steel by H. S. Sadd, public domain.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Fea, John, author.

Title: Was America founded as a Christian nation? : a historical introduction / John Fea.

Description: Second edition. | Louisville, KY : Westminster John Knox Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016011998 (print) | LCCN 2016013230 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664262495 (alk. paper) | ISBN 9781611646931 (ebk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Christianity and politicsUnited StatesHistory. | United StatesChurch history.

Classification: LCC BR515 .F43 2016 (print) | LCC BR515 (ebook) | DDC 261.70973dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016011998

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.

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W hen Was America Founded as a Christian Nation: A Historical Introduction was released in 2011, I spent some time on the road and on the radio waves promoting it. In the process I learned a lot about what Americans think about the founding of the United States. Many of the people I encountered have been thoughtful, open-minded, and willing to listen to my interpretation of the relationship between Christianity and the American founding. Others have not.

As I traveled I kept a journal about my experiences. I titled it On the Road with Christian America. I used the journal to reflect on what my encounters with Christian America tell us about how American evangelicals, and Americans more broadly, engage the past. In Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? I tried to bring some complexity and nuance to this politically charged question. In fact, I have often said that the question in the title of my book is a bad historical question, because to answer it requires one to superimpose a late-twentieth-century question on eighteenth-century historical actors who, for the most part, were not asking it. Some people I met while on the road could embrace my historical approach to this topic, but others seemed incapable of thinking about this issue in any way other than through the lens of politics. I found that when I gave a talk on the book, most people who showed up came with their minds already made up about how they would answer the question in the title. Thus they looked to me for evidence to bolster their preconceived convictions. Unfortunately, these people often returned home disappointed and dissatisfied. When radio hosts asked me to provide a clear yes or no answer to the question and I answered by saying its complicated, the interview might as well have ended at that point. If I was not going to take a definitive side in this debate, then what was the point of talking to me? Most radio hosts pegged me as a typical professor trying to make the smooth places rough. I plead guilty.