Philip Gorski, American Covenant: A History of Civil Religion From the Puritans to the Present

• Books & Literature
• History
• Religion & Spirituality

Yale professor and author of The Protestant Ethic Revisited Philip Gorski gives us an authoritative account of the long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American story.

Our present polarization has many causes. One is the long-running battle between those who believe that the United States was founded as a secular democracy and those who believe it was established as a Christian nation. In this event, Gorski argues that our founding tradition was a synthesis of both sacred and secular sources. He traces the history of this civil religious tradition from Puritan times through to the present day and reflects on how it might help heal our political divisions.