I did not find reading the revised edition much different from reading the first.

I found this really interesting - it examines the myth that America was founded as a Christian nation.
It does this by examining different questions; 1. What is America? This looks into different periods of American history where America means something different.
2. What does Christian mean? This looks at different states and different denominations.
3. Were the American founders Christians? This looks at different founders, notably George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams but there are others.

I found this book really interesting. I never knew that this was a major question in America, but it became obvious by the introduction. Fea was really good and dissects each part of the book.

I originally read this book by my history professor's recommendation (Beth Barton Schwieger, who is quoted in a blurb at the beginning of this edition). When I read it, it changed my intellectual life. The view of America I had been taught for years was simply not correct, not because the opposite is true, but because it's a lot more nuanced than I thought. This book taught me that the answers to historical questions are not easy or already prescribed, and that truly added more fuel to my love of social studies and I believe has turned me into a good (ok, at least adequate) history teacher.

New to this edition are: 1) an updated introduction which outlines some of Fea's experiences since the book was published, and 2) an epilogue which gives an overview of the major "Christian nation" issues since first publication (specifically the subsequent publication of David Barton's "The Jefferson Lies", Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and Obergefell v. Hodges). Both the introduction and the epilogue are great additions to the book, and I am glad this edition exists. I have to admit, however, I prefer the old cover to the new one.

I have also read John Fea's "Why Study History?" and started listening to his podcast "The Way of Improvement Leads Home" (both of which I highly recommend), and I have asked him questions that he has graciously answered with his usual wisdom. I think Fea is one of the great evangelical minds of our time, and he has been an invaluable resource to me as a Christian and as a teacher of history.

This book has been reviewed for the Northeast Popular/American Culture Association. Go to the link

The revised edition of a magisterial work discussing not only a historical but often political issue: the relationship between Christianity and the founding of America.

The author stands in the midst of two traditions: he professes to follow Jesus, he works at a "Christian" institution of higher learning, but he also wishes to uphold strong, robust historical scholarship. The book is the attempt to stand between two opposing religious and cultural positions: on one side, the confidence that America was founded as a specifically, uniquely, and exceptionally Christian nation, and on the other side, the confidence that America was essentially founded as a secular nation. He does so by first exploring the history of America and the idea of a "Christian nation"; he then explores the nation's origins, founding, and original documents to see if it was established as a "Christian nation," and he concludes by exploring the life stories of many prominent "Founding Fathers" to see if they were recognizably Christian / orthodox Christian in their lives and beliefs.

In the end Fea shows that many did believe that America was a "Christian nation," and yet from the beginning the enterprise was never established for that specific reason, and Enlightenment ideals regarding freedom and liberty were as much in play, if not more so, than actual Biblical ideals in the founding of America. He persuasively shows that arguments about the Christian nature of the founding and its documents cannot be sustained. In terms of the Founders themselves he does well at showing how they can neither be upheld as a group of orthodox Christians nor as fully secularizing Deists, but often stood somewhere in-between.

An essential read and corrective of so much misinformation out there. Also: don't trust David Barton on American history.