
Among The Most Enduring Themes In American History Is The Idea That The United States Was Founded As A Christian Nation. A Pervasive Narrative In Everything From School Textbooks To Political Commentary, It Is Central To The Way In Which Many Americans Perceive The Historical Legacy Of Their Nation. Yet, As Steven K. Green Shows In This Illuminating New Book, It Is Little More Than A Myth. In Inventing A Christian America, Green, A Leading Historian Of Religion And Politics, Explores The Historical Record That Is Purported To Support The Popular Belief In America's Religious Founding And Status As A Christian Nation. He Demonstrates That, Like All Myths, These Claims Are Based On Historical Facts That Have Been Colored By The Interpretive Narratives That Have Been Imposed Upon Them. In Tracing The Evolution Of These Claims And The Evidence Levied In Support Of Them From The Founding Of The New England Colonies, Through The American Revolution, And To The Present Day, He Investigates How They Became Leading Narratives In The Country's Collective Identity. Three Critical Moments In American History Shaped And Continue To Drive The Myth Of A Christian America: The Puritan Founding Of New England, The American Revolution And The Forging Of A New Nation, And The Early Years Of The Nineteenth Century, When A Second Generation Of Americans Sought To Redefine And Reconcile The Memory Of The Founding To Match Their Religious And Patriotic Aspirations. Seeking To Shed Light Not Only On The Veracity Of These Ideas But On The Reasons They Endure, Green Ultimately Shows That The Notion Of America's Religious Founding Is A Myth Not Merely In The Colloquial Sense, But Also In A Deeper Sense, As A Shared Story That Gives Deeper Meaning To Our Collective National Identity. Offering A Fresh Look At One Of The Most Common And Contested Claims In American History, Inventing A Christian America Is An Enlightening Read For Anyone Interested In The Story Of-and The Debate Over-america's Founding.
This book investigates the historical validity of the pervasive narrative that the United States was established as a Christian nation. Steven K. Green, a historian specializing in the intersection of religion and politics, utilizes primary source analysis to deconstruct the origins of this national myth. He argues that the belief in a Christian founding is a constructed narrative, shaped by subsequent generations to align with evolving patriotic and religious aspirations rather than historical reality.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a rigorous contribution to the historiography of American church-state relations. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's meticulous attention to historical context.
Page Count:
304
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-10:
0190230983
ISBN-13:
9780190230982
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