Product Overview
Was America founded as a Christian nation—or is the truth far more complex?
In God We Trust invites readers 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.
For those searching for unbiased historical answers about the founding of the United States, this approachable and well-researched book addresses ten of the most contested questions about Christianity and America’s founding that now dominate public debate. This book will help readers more easily navigate and understand the actual historical record, discern how the facts become twisted when taken out of their contexts, and be able to respond to the question of religion and the American founding with clarity and historically grounded understanding.
In reclaiming the full story of America’s origins, Fea reminds us that misusing the past to serve present-day goals risks undermining the very Republic the founders sought to build—and challenges us to protect it by seeking the truth with the intent of maintaining a robust and free Republic.
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Reviews
"Was America founded as a Christian nation? This is the big question that Fea addresses in In God We Trust. He is uniquely qualified to tackle this topic. Writing with clarity and verve, he reminds us that Americans, including the founders, were diverse in their beliefs. Many were guided by faith (while others were not). They came together to win independence while enshrining religious liberty at the core of their new republic. This wonderful, important book deserves the widest possible readership."—Frank Cogliano, Professor of American History, University of Edinburgh, and author of A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson and the American Republic
"Fea’s is the clear-eyed, rigorously historical guide our polarized moment needs. With characteristic fairness and scholarly precision, Fea dismantles both the Christian-nationalist myths that flatten the founding into an evangelical origin story and the equally simplistic counterclaims that erase religion’s real presence. By modeling the hard work of thinking historically—looking at complexity, context, contingency—he equips readers to move beyond culture-war slogans and toward a more honest, usable understanding of America’s past. This brilliant update of his scholarship for our current moment is essential reading for anyone who cares about the relationship between faith, history, and democratic life."—Douglas Bradburn, President and CEO, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
"A wonderful resource on the most pressing questions between Christianity and the founding of the United States. Fea is the ultimate authority and is better than ever in this feisty read."—Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Executive Director, The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
"What we need in the United States is a primer by a responsible historian providing the basic questions people ask about Christianity and the country’s founding and then answering those questions clearly and compellingly. In God We Trust does just that: ten bold questions with ten nuanced responses. Fea’s prose is so clear that political and Christian leaders can distribute this book by the dozen to discussion groups. This primer will be as useful to a local library as to a local church. What the First Amendment does not seem to do, this book does."—Scot McKnight, Visiting Professor, Doctor of Ministry program, Houston Theological Seminary
"In this book, Fea offers trustworthy answers to some of the most pressing questions that Americans are asking about the role that Christianity played in the founding of the United States. With deliberation and care, Fea sorts through all-too-prevalent myths and distortions, orienting readers to what the historical record actually shows. At a moment when our public discourse is often oriented toward heat rather than light, In God We Trust opens an illuminating window onto both past and present."—Heath W. Carter, Associate Professor of American Christianity, Princeton Theological Seminary
"Did the founders of the United States intend to create a Christian nation, or did they mean to banish religion from the public sphere altogether? In God We Trust explores these questions with great sensitivity and nuance. John Fea’s answers reflect a careful historian’s consideration of evidence and faithfulness to the historical record." —Annette Gordon-Reed, Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard University, and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
"Highly respected as a scholar and thinker, Fea depends on deeply grounded research to write an account that’s accessible to anyone interested in the intersection of faith and politics. In this highly polarized era when it is harder than ever to find straight facts and historical analysis that we can trust, Fea offers a carefully balanced and nuanced look at a question that goes to the heart of our identity as a country."—Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent, PBS News Hour
"Anyone who’s ever asked—or been asked—the questions Fea poses will want to grab this book and devour his fascinating answers." —Yoni Appelbaum, Deputy Executive Editor, The Atlantic