Religious Freedom

Mortification of Spin

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

Religion & Spirituality

4.4 • 879 Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Todd flies solo with guest John Wilsey, a professor of church history at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of the thought-provoking book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer. In his book, John addresses urgent questions about religious freedom in America today. How have conservatives historically understood the meaning of religious freedom? How do Americans who identify as conservative now think about religious freedom in this era? What are the differences between the historical and contemporary views, and how do those differences shape fights about religious freedom today? Todd and John explore the historical context of religious freedom in America and its implications for the church today, examining America's unique blend of religion and liberty, the dangers of an established church, and the importance of preserving religious freedom for the flourishing of the church and society. Disestablishment is the best way forward for the church. – John Wilsey Tune in for this timely and thought provoking conversation. We were pleased to award two listeners a copy of John Wilsey’s book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, courtesy of Eerdman’s Publishing. Congratulations to Kyle A. from Clarksville, IN and Noah G. from Minneapolis, MN! Show Notes: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Mortification of Spin, a casual conversation about things that count with Carl Truman and Todd Pruitt, a podcast of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
0:29.2	Let's join this week's conversation.
0:31.6	Thank you. You are listening to Mortification of Spin.
0:52.9	My name is Todd Pruitt, and I'm the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
0:59.7	And today, it's a little bit different because I am not joined by my friend and co-host,
1:04.6	Carl Truman, who could not be with us today.
1:07.4	But given the topic, I think his whole English attitude would be nothing but a distraction.
1:14.8	And so we're going to fly solo here with our guest.
1:19.7	And our guest is John Wilsie.
1:22.7	John is a professor of church history, and he's the chair of the department of church history and
1:28.1	historical theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, an
1:33.3	institution that no doubt most of our listeners are familiar with. Wonderful faculty there,
1:39.1	wonderful history, and they continue to do great work. John, thank you for joining us today.
1:46.9	Thanks, Todd.
1:47.4	I really am honored to be with you.
1:49.6	Well, we're having you on because you've written a really interesting, I think, very helpful book.
1:56.6	And for some, at least, will be controversial because of what you affirm, which is historically,
2:07.7	what conservative Christians have affirmed in the history of our country, but is now kind of being
2:13.5	challenged in some of my circles in the Presbyterian world, and I know also in
2:19.1	certain corners of the Baptist world as well. The book I'm speaking of is entitled
2:24.3	Religious Freedom, a Conservative Primer. And it is published by Erdman's, and I want to
2:32.3	commend it, first of all, to our readers. It is very thoughtful.
	...

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