The US founders’ other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and government

European colonial powers linked church and state. But the founders of the United States broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.

By: Peter C. Mancall, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 24, 2026

Words: 1,321

Last Updated: 4 weeks, 1 day ago

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By Peter C. Mancall, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Did the founders of the United States intend to create a Christian nation?

Political leaders who addressed a prayer rally on the National Mall on May 17, 2026, seem to think so: House Speaker Mike Johnson led the crowd in “rededicat(ing) the United States of America as one nation under God.”

Some, and perhaps many, scholars would say no: that …

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