An American Christian Nation? Religion and America at 250 #1

“An American Christian Nation? What are the Right Questions? What is at Stake?”

with Kathleen Sands, Robert P. Jones, and Chip Rotolo

This is the first of our “Religion and America at 250” webinAAR series that will engage central questions around the meaning of religion, the meaning of America, and the intersections of those terms and with special consideration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The webinar will first present information about the meaning and limits of religious freedom in the colonial period and for the framers. After setting the context, two presentations of research into current debates about whether the US is, was, or should be a “Christian Nation” will offer observations about contemporary American attitudes and practices around this question, exploring the complexity of historical and contemporary issues at stake. Claims around the US as a Christian nation have provoked heated debates and difficult conversations. This webinar will offer data and insights from researchers in the field; we invite you to engage with the featured scholars in discussing the relevance of the question at this particular moment.

Kathleen M. Sands was trained in theology but later expanded her research to religion and sexuality, religions in American history/law/public life, and critical religious studies. She is author of Escape From Paradise: Evil and Tragedy in Feminist Theology, and editor of God Forbid: Religion and Sex in American Public Life. Most recently, Sands wrote  America’s Religious Wars (Yale UP), and she is currently working on the book Thinking Twice About Religious Freedom: Case Studies on Vaccination, Abortion, Education, and Gender Identity (UVA Press).

Chip Rotolo was trained as a sociologist and is currently a Research Associate on Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life team. His research explores religious identities, beliefs and practices in the United States with a particular focus on religion’s role in American society. He has worked on surveys examining views about America as a Christian nation, how Americans perceive the importance of religion in public life, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on attendance at religious services, spirituality in the U.S. and religion among Asian Americans.

Robert P. Jones is president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future (2023), as well as the award winning  White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity (2021) and The End of White Christian America (2019). Jones is an active member of the AAR. He regularly writes on politics, culture and religion for various popular audiences and writes weekly at robertpjones.substack.com. His new book Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy  is  forthcoming 09/08/2026 from St. Martin’s Press.