America 250 and the Future of American Protestantism
Which way, American man? The question is not rhetorical. At 250, a nation that has made freedom its hallmark must reckon with what freedom actually means, and that question, it…
Protestant Faith and the American Republic
Which way, American man? The question is not rhetorical. At 250, a nation that has made freedom its hallmark must reckon with what freedom actually means, and that question, it…
Ben R. Crenshaw (Ph.D., Hillsdale College) teaches at the Declaration of Independence Center at the University of Mississippi. His doctoral work focused on eighteenth-century religious history, political theology, and philosophy. His writing has appeared in American Reformer, The American Mind, the Federalist, and the Public Discourse.
From 1685 to 1776 When Thomas Jefferson reflected on the Declaration of Independence fifty years after its composition, he hoped that it would make clear a “palpable truth.” That is,…
Introduction Simeon Howard’s June 7, 1773 sermon to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in Boston, a volunteer colonial militia unit, exhorts Christians to “stand fast” in their liberty, asserting…
In 1851, Herman Melville published his epic novel Moby Dick. It is Homeric and Virgilian, Shakespearean and Miltonic. But most importantly for Melville, it is distinctly American. Shortly before its…
Introduction This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a fitting occasion to reflect upon one of the defining features of America: religious liberty. As an American…
Matthew Spalding, The Making of the American Mind: The Story of Our Declaration of Independence, (Encounter Books, 2026). Winner of ISI’s 2026 Conservative Book of the Year Award “When…
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of…
The word “ruin” has a wonderful semantic texture. It denotes demolition either physical or moral: you can ruin a painting or a festive occasion. When applied to persons, as in…
