America's Best Idea

The Separation of Church and State

De: Randall Balmer

Narrado por: Randall Balmer

A historian and ordained Episcopal priest offers everything you need to know for shaping and defending your own beliefs on the role of religion in American life

Filled with stories from America's struggle for religious freedom most listeners have never heard before and perfect for fans of Jesus and John Wayne and On Tyranny

The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution codified the principle that government should play no role in favoring or supporting any religion, while allowing free exercise of all religions (including unbelief). More than 200 years later, the results from this experiment are overwhelming: The separation of church and state has shielded the government from religious factionalism, and the United States boasts a diverse religious culture unmatched in the world.

But changes have been taking place at an accelerating pace in recent years. The current Supreme Court has shifted away from excluding the influence and practice of religion at public institutions and in our laws and policies, and moved dramatically toward protecting the inclusion and promotion of religion in publicly funded undertakings.

Moreover, adherents to a Christian Nationalism ideology have grown more vocal and emboldened, and are increasingly moving into positions of power.

Randall Balmer, one of the premier historians of religion in America, reviews both the history of the separation of church and state and various attempts to undermine that wall. Despite the fact that the 1st Amendment and the separation of church and state has served the nation remarkably well, he argues, its future is by no means assured.

©2025 Randall Balmer (P)2025 Steerforth Press

Terrific review of the history and justification for the first amendment

As a well-respected historian Dr. Balmer provides abundant information about how the first amendment came to be, how it has been buffeted by the winds of change over two centuries, and how it continues to be a bastion of hope for those who wish to see the genius of the American constitutional experiment succeed. I would say his perspective is optimistic. In particular his accounts of the role of Roger Williams, at the Tripoli treaty, the Johnson amendment, and the Blaine bills shows evidence of the strength this amendment has manifest over the centuries of our nation's life. The author does his own narration so for those who know him it's like sitting together for an extended conversation.