Inventing a Christian America

Inventing a Christian America deconstructs—and reconstructs—the myth of America as a Christian nation. Steven K. Green (Fred H. Paulus Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Religion, Law, and Democracy at Willamette University) argues both sides of the issue with skill, precision, clarity, and even sensitivity—characteristic of a constitutional law professor who is also a trained historian. A distinctive feature of this monograph is its attention to law. The result is a history of “Christian America” with an added legal dimension within American history and thought. In the preface, the author defines “myth” as “an explanation of events that assists in the development of a cultural and national identity” (viii). This sets the stage for the book's objective, which is to “explain how the ideas of America's religious founding and its status as a Christian nation became the leading narrative about the nation's collective identity” (viii). Green recognizes that the project of a “Christian mission” has had its “dark side,” with the coerced “christianization” of Native Americans, forced relocation, and cultural genocide (ix). Historically, this overarching Christian American identity must somehow be squared with the fact that America is now the “world's most religiously pluralistic nation.” This is “one area where getting history right matters” (ix).

Aesthetics · Christianity · Christianization · Democracy · Genocide · Identity (music) · Mythology · Political science · Sociology · Theology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies