Is America a Christian Nation Because States Once Required Religious Tests?

Send us Fan MailChapter 4 of The Christian Past That Wasn't takes up the question of this episode. This episode cites the book and expands on it as well. In sum, I take the position that the experience of colonial and state governments are historically interesting but not directly relevant to our secular system of Constitutional government. What the framers did in the Constitutional Convention is what is relevant. In the book, I fact check claims about what the states required for office holders and I examine the ways different states handled church and state relationships. There was the Williams Way (Rhode Island and to some degree the mid-Atlantic states) and the Winthrop Way (Massachusetts and everybody else). This is not to say that America is a secular nation culturally speaking. If anything, the nation became more culturally Christian after the founders passed from the scene. One of the reasons the founding era was reframed as a Christian founding was due to the heavy influence of Christianity in the expanding nation. Produced, written, and hosted by Warren ThrockmortonSlippery Rock University history professor Aaron Cowan and Dartmouth College religion professor Randall Balmer make appearances in this episode. Music by Jonas Fair, Jeremiah Lawson, and Netop. Netop is the name for my instrumental music project. Learn more about it at https://salemgrovepress.com/netop. Book ordering options at www.christianpast.com.