Ten years ago, a priest at an inner-city Episcopal church in Delaware (Saints Andrew and Matthew in Wilmington) invited me to lead a Lenten retreat on race and film for his congregants. His parish, he told me, was made up…
What Jefferson and Madison would have thought about ‘rededicating’ the US to God
Thousands of Americans prayed on the National Mall on May 17, 2026, during “Rededicate 250”: a day-long rally to “come together in prayer and worship ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday,” as organizers described it. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson,…
A constitutional republic, if you can keep it
Too often, when I hear or read political pundits, both conservative and liberal, refer to the United States as a “democracy,” I want to scream, “We are a constitutional republic, not a democracy!” and a few choice other words directed…
What the Declaration of Independence does – and doesn’t – say about God
On the Fourth of July 1776, the congressional delegates in Philadelphia adopted the Declaration of Independence, then ordered that it be widely “proclaimed.” Couriers carried the printed version by stagecoach and horseback to every colony, where officials posted it and newspapers circulated…
In conversation with Jeffrey Rosen
Jeffrey Rosen is president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, professor of law at George Washington University, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the…
Professor outlines three common rebuttals to church-state separation
The principle of church-state separation is not a myth even though those exact words don’t appear in the U.S. Constitution, according to scholar David R. Brockman. Brockman, nonresident scholar in religion and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute and…
Texas senator fails history test while passing school prayer bill
After watching a little bit of the Texas Senate debating religion in schools today, I am convinced of two things. Texas senators need serious history reeducation Texas is where separation of church and state has gone to die Today I…
Speaker Mike Johnson wrongly attributes prayer to Thomas Jefferson
Upon his re-election as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, R-La., read a prayer he said was written by Thomas Jefferson. Problem is, those who have studied the former president’s life and words say there is no…
Was America born as a Christian nation? It’s more complicated than that
No one markets products like evangelical preachers and Donald Trump. While Trump sells Bibles and golden sneakers and politics, Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas is selling copies of his coffee table book version of his annual July 4 sermon…
Monarchy redux: Follow the money
Who’d a thought that just prior to commemorating our overthrow of a king, the U.S. Supreme Court would reinstate monarchy? That might be an exaggeration, but only a teeny-weeny one. With today’s Supreme Court ruling, presidents of the U.S. have…
This Fourth of July, let us reclaim patriotism
Not since the Civil War has the United States faced such ill winds as we experience this Independence Day. The very idea of American democracy is under assault from internal forces convinced they are the lone defenders of democracy. The…
Professors defend Thomas Jefferson from Christian nationalism
The evangelical narrative of one of America’s Founding Fathers continues to be so historically inaccurate that a duo of authors has released an updated version of their book defending the real legacy of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson definitely was not a…