How Christianity Shaped America's 500-Year Mission to Become a Holy Land
History Unplugged Podcast
History Unplugged
4.2 • 4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists famously described the First Amendment as building a "wall of separation between church and State." This line has been the gold standard for those who point to the secular origins of America and the threat of funding any sort of religious activity. But this idea of America as a secular republic built on Enlightenment ideals misses a critical truth: Christianity has been at the center of American public life since European colonization began 500 years ago. The Constitution didn't create a wall between church and state—it inadvertently created a "free market" for religion that allowed Christian activists to expand their influence in unexpected ways.
Today's guest is Matthew Avery Sutton, author of Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity. We see the different versions of Christianity imported during European colonization and how the absence of state control unleashed wildly eccentric religious movements that couldn't have happened in Europe. From revivalist preachers like Jonathan Edwards and Peter Cartwright to Billy Graham, and from liberal Congregationalists to twentieth-century mainline denominations, American Christianity constantly evolved.
We see this in the story of Abraham Lincoln, whose skepticism toward traditional Christianity in his twenties nearly derailed his political career. In his 1846 race against Methodist circuit rider Peter Cartwright, Lincoln faced accusations of being an infidel after openly rejecting his family's Christian faith. This episode reveals how, contrary to popular belief, America's founding generation allowed religious liberty not out of principle, but pragmatism—they needed to keep a fractious coalition together.
To understand what makes America unique, we must account for how Christianity shaped—and was shaped by—every major historical development in U.S. history. From tent revivals to megachurches, from abolition to segregation, Christianity's "free-market" evolution in America created something unlike anywhere else in the world.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're invited to pull up a chair on Lisa Harper's Back Porch, where faith meets real life. Welcome to Back Forch Theology. Each episode helps you dive deeper into God's word and discover that the gospel isn't just good news for eternity. It's great news for everyday life because God is for you and he's always been restoring our value and drawing us closer to him. With honest conversations, a few laughs and guests ranging from close friends to brilliant theologians. Back Forch theology is thoughtful, meaningful, and never stuffy. |
| 0:24.3 | So grab some calls. him with honest conversations, a few laughs, and guests ranging from close friends to brilliant theologians. |
| 0:21.4 | Back Forch Theology is thoughtful, meaningful, and never stuffy. |
| 0:24.3 | So grab some coffee or sweet tea and join Lisa Harper on Bat Forch Theology. |
| 0:28.0 | Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. |
| 0:34.7 | Sky here with another episode of the History and Plug podcast. |
| 0:38.1 | Thomas Jefferson's ekeenote letter to the Danbury Baptists famously described the First |
| 0:42.5 | Amendment is building a wall of separation between church and state. |
| 0:46.5 | This line has been the gold standard for those who point to the secular origins of America |
| 0:50.2 | and the threat of funding any sort of religious activity. |
| 0:53.5 | But this idea of America |
| 0:54.6 | as a secular republic built on enlightenment ideas misses a critical truth. Christianity has been |
| 1:00.7 | at the center of American public life since even before British colonization, back to Columbus 500 |
| 1:06.6 | years ago. The Constitution didn't create a wall between church and state. It inadvertently created |
| 1:12.1 | a free market for religion that allowed Christian activists to expand their influence in unexpected |
| 1:16.5 | ways. Today's guest is Matthew Avery Sutton, author of Chosenland, how Christianity |
| 1:21.7 | made America and Americans remit Christianity. We see that different versions of Christianity |
| 1:26.4 | imported during European |
| 1:27.6 | colonization and how the absence of state control unleashed wildly eccentric religious |
| 1:32.8 | movements that couldn't have happened in Europe. From revivalist preachers like Jonathan Edwards |
| 1:37.7 | and Peter Cartwright to Billy Graham, and from liberal abolitionist congregationalists to |
| 1:43.0 | 20th century mainline denominations, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Unplugged, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Unplugged and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.