Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction

by John Fea

Overview

Fea offers an even-handed primer on whether America was founded to be a Christian nation, as many evangelicals assert, or a secular state, as others contend. He approaches the title's question from a historical perspective, helping readers see past the emotional rhetoric of today to the recorded facts of our past. Readers on both sides of the issues will appreciate that this book occupies a middle ground, noting the good points and the less-nuanced arguments of both sides and leading us always back to the primary sources that our shared American history comprises.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611640885
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	02/16/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

John Fea (Ph.D SUNY-Stony Brook) chairs the history department at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. His writing on early American history has appeared in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He is the author of *The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment in America* (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008), *Confessing History: Explorations in Christian Faith and the Historian's Vocation* (Notre Dame University Press, 2010); and *Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction* (Westminster/John Knox Press, Feb. 2011). He is currently working on a book about a revolutionary-era "tea party" in the town of Greenwich, New Jersey and a book about Presbyterians in the American Revolution. He blogs daily at www.philipvickersfithian.com

Editorial Reviews

"A remarkably useful guide for navigating the arguments about America's 'Christian' origins." Randall Balmer, Barnard College, author of God in the White House.

"Should be the last word for all who would claim America as a Christian nation. . . . Deserves to be widely read." Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School, coauthor of Resident Aliens (with Will Willimon) and The Peaceable Kingdom.

"Should be the last word for all who would claim America as a Christian nation. . . . Deserves to be widely read." Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School, coauthor of Resident Aliens (with Will Willimon) and The Peaceable Kingdom

"This is a timely book that will help make sense of one of the most important divides in American politics. John Fea offers a clear and balanced reinterpretation of how this debate has shaped American culture and society for more than 200 years." John Wigger, University of Missouri, author of American Saint and Taking Heaven by Storm

"Fea challenges his readers to think like historians, and presents them with the facts they need to weigh the evidence for themselves. Those who are ready to move past simplistic answers will be well served by this thought-provoking work." Mary V. Thompson, author of In the Hands of a Good Providence: Religion in the Life of George Washington

From the Publisher

In this primer on America's historical relationship to Christianity, Fea (history, Messiah Coll.; The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment in Early America) shows that the facts are much more complex than the oversimplified sound bites that litter the present political debate. He covers the history of the idea of the United States as a Christian nation, whether the American Revolution was a Christian event, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the religious beliefs of seven key founders. As the book goes on, it becomes clear that Fea has no intention of definitively answering the question posed in the title, which may frustrate readers already committed to one side or the other. Instead, the author lays out the relevant information with all of its ambiguity and invites readers to draw their own conclusions. VERDICT Although this book is primarily intended for a Christian audience, it is a useful text for anyone seeking a balanced historical overview of a thorny question.—Brian T. Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY

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