John Fea

John Fea taught U.S. history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, for over two decades. He is currently Senior Fellow at the Lumen Center for the Study of Christian and Culture in Madison, Wisconsin. He is the author or editor of several books, including Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction (2011, 2016), a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Sojourners, Commonweal, Christianity Today, and other venues. He blogs daily at The Way of Improvement Leads Home.

Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?

Author(s):
John Fea

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 o...
Price: $20.00
Publication Date: 09/29/2026
A Historical Introduction

Author(s):
John Fea

John Fea offers a thoroughly researched, evenhanded 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. This updated edition reports on the many issues that have arisen in recent years concerning religion's place in American society including the S...
Price: $40.00
Publication Date: 09/21/2016