John Fea on Religion & the American Founding

tonygill — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:00:36 +0000

Was America founded as a Christian nation? Prof. John Fea — associate professor of history and departmental chair at Messiah College (Grantham, PA) — provides an unambiguous “yes and no” answer to that question. To help us understand what this means, Prof. Fea lays out the different definitions (or understandings) of the term “Christian nation,” arguing that how you define the term will lead you to a different answer of whether the US was created as a Christian nation. In an unguarded moment of candor, your host (Tony) provides his own thoughts on the Christian nature of the Founding. We then take our discussion through an examination of the early colonization of British America, talking not only about the Puritans, but also the important role played by other religious dissenters such as the Quakers and Roger Williams. Prof. Fea points out the importance of the Anglican Church (Church of England) at this time, as well. We walk through whether or not these colonies were deeply steeped in religiosity and examine how they practiced their Christianity. One of Prof. Fea’s central arguments is that although the rhetoric of the time was Christian, the deeds (orthopraxy) of the colonists often did not match their lofty intentions. Our discussion proceeds to the Revolutionary War era with an interesting detour through “just war theory.” We finish off by examing the Declaration of Independence, with particular emphasis on references to God in that document, and the U.S. Constitution, particularly looking at the absence of references to a deity there. Prof. Fea reflects upon the significance of this debate for our contemporary era. Recorded: June 2, 2011.

Please note: This episode was recorded one day later than the interview recorded with Prof. Mark Hall that will air next week. I consider these two podcasts to be part of a vigorous debate about the influence of religion in the founding of America. Normally, we run the podcasts in order of the interview. However, Prof. Hall’s podcast is airing one week later due to a commitment I made to have his podcast air on July 4 before securing the interview date with Prof. Fea. We moved Dr. Hall’s interview to an early time to accomodate his international travel.

Thomas Kidd on The Great Awakening

tonygill — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:00:15 +0000

The Great Awakening was a period of great evangelical fervor in the British American colonies that is typically dated from 1740-43, yet had its roots back in the 17th century and which also lingered into the 1760s. Prof. Thomas Kidd — associate professor of history at Baylor University, senior fellow at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and co director of Baylor’s Program on Historical Studies of Religion — discusses his book The Great Awakening (Yale University Press). We learn how this evangelical revival varied regionally in the colonies and how it was defined by a more heartfelt and charismatic spirituality. Our conversation covers several of the most colorful characters of this movement including George Whitefield, James Davenport and Gilbert Tennent, and how established clergy pushed back at their emotionally-fueled evangelism. Whitefield is discussed in particular detail. We conclude our podcast with how The Great Awakening influenced the anti-slavery movement and the American Revolution. Recorded: August 6, 2010.

Research On Religion » Anglican Church

John Fea on Religion & the American Founding

Thomas Kidd on The Great Awakening