Best of: Were we founded as a ‘Christian nation’?

What do people mean when they say we were founded as a “Christian nation”? Is that true? 

Revisit this 2019 conversation on the political and religious history behind that idea. BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler talks with Dr. Steven Green, author of Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious Founding, about the political history of this concept, including how, when and why it originated. They also discuss misguided claims that the Ten Commandments are the basis of our legal system. On the second half of the episode, we hear from church historian Bill Leonard on what religious leaders said and did during the founding of the United States and how that relates to the freedoms we have today.

This conversation was part of our podcast series on the dangers of Christian nationalism, first released on August 14, 2019. 

 

SHOW NOTES

Segment 1 (starting at 02:22):  Steven Green on the political history of the idea

This program originally aired August 14, 2019, as episode 3 in our 10-part BJC Podcast series on the dangers of Christian nationalism.

Dr. Steven Green is the Fred H. Paulus Professor of Law and Affiliated Professor of History and Religious Studies at Willamette University. His most recent book – released in 2022 – is Separating Church and State. He is the author and co-author of several books, including Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious Founding; Religious Freedom and the Supreme Court; and The Third Disestablishment: Church, State, and American Culture, 1940-1975.

 

Segment 2 (starting at 21:18): Bill Leonard on the religious history of the idea

The Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard is the founding dean at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, who now holds the title of “professor of divinity emeritus.” He has written some 25 books, and his research focuses on church history with particular attention to American religion, Baptist studies, and the Appalachian religion. 

During the episode, Amanda Tyler mentions an article he wrote for Baptist News Global: Legislating ‘In God We Trust’: using the state to do the Church’s work.

To learn more about BJC’s work countering Christian nationalism, visit ChristiansAgainstChristianNationalism.org or BJConline.org/ChristianNationalism. You can also access our discussion guide to go with this podcast series.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. You can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.