"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" (Rev. Ed.) by John Fea. A Review

 

John Fea is a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. A university founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. He originally published "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" in 2011, and it was revised in 2016. This 328-page paperback is packed full with Colonial and American history, drawing from original sources to answer that question. It is a book written "for the historically minded and thoughtful reader who is looking for help in sorting" out this question, avoiding polemics (xix). Since we live in a sound-bite culture, Fea recognizes that it is difficult to have a sustained dialogue on this topic, but he makes a valiant effort toward having that sustained dialogue. The book reads fairly straightforward, and doesn't seem to get bogged down in the contentious mudpuddles or bogs.

In the end, Fea seems to get his point across. To answer the reigning question if America was founded as a Christian nation, he shows how that answer is complicated. As he points out, a good chunk of American history lands on the "yes" side of this question. And yet as one examines the religious beliefs of many of the prominent founders they will find them to have been an eclectic group who were not necessarily orthodox Christians, but were most concerned with the Republic's wellbeing. Into this mix, the author also looks at official pronouncements, attempted legislation and ventured Constitutional amendments, and more. History is complex, and the answer to the main question is a tangle of 'yes, sort of, but not necessarily.'

The one thing that stuck out to me through the book is to ask: "What do you mean by Christian Nation?" The voices of the past answered that question in several different ways. Some meant orthodox Christian doctrine was to guide and rule the nation. Others meant Christian morality was the best and what should direct our national life. And several meant Protestant Christians make up the majority of the populace. I find that this is the question to ask those who assert that America was founded as a Christian nation. Their answer will guide the conversation. Just as in the past, some will mean that the nation is to be theologically and biblically Christian. That had early support from some, but not all - maybe not even a majority. And, most likely will now gain very little support. Others will mean that America should have the morality of Christianity. This had huge support even from the beginning and even by most of the founders. This, I think is what most people mean by America being a Christian nation in the present. Finally, several will likely mean that the country was numerically Protestant Christian. This was assumed and affirmed by the vast majority of our forbearers. But it will likely not be affirmed in the 21st Century. The way I have been answering the main question - and I think Fea proves - is that this country that I love deeply was not necessarily a Christian nation (theologically and biblically), but a very Christianized nation (it's overall morality and jurisprudence).

To bring this to a conclusion, Fea can be anachronistic at times - judging the national founders by today's standards and not in their historical moment. But over all the book is historically valuable and can aid readers in coming to a larger answer to the main question, "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" It is a worthwhile book.