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The book cover for "They Knew They Were Pilgrims."

A History of the Pilgrims That Neither Idolizes Nor Demonizes Them

Historian John Turner tells the story of Plymouth Colony with nuance and care.

How America Keeps Adapting the Story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth to Match the Story We Need to Tell

The word “Plymouth” may conjure up visions of Pilgrims in search of religious freedom, but that vision does not reflect reality.
Pilgrims

Thank the Pilgrims for America's Tradition of Separatism, Division, and Infighting

They were not the nation's first settlers, but they were the most fractious.
Photo of an interracial couple

On California’s Eugenicist Past

Jane Dailey considers the power of the law to reinforce racism.
NYC street preacher <loc.gov/pictures/item/2020636204/>
Exhibit

Religious Freedom

Tracing the long and contested history of religious freedom in the U.S., from colonial times to recent skirmishes over school prayer, abortion rights, and religious displays.

Statue of John Winthrop

"City on a Hill" and the Making of an American Origin Story

A now-famous Puritan sermon was nothing special in its own day.
Men and women of Zoar, Ohio, posing in a field with their hay harvest, horses, and equipment.

The Communal, Sometimes Celibate, 19th-Century Ohio Town That Thrived for Three Generations

Zoar's citizens left religious persecution in Germany and created a utopian community on the Erie Canal.

Religion and the U.S. Census

Did the Census Bureau's practice of collecting data on religious bodies violate the separation of church and state?

Washington’s Legacy for American Jews: ‘To Bigotry No Sanction’

In 1790, as the First Amendment was being ratified, George Washington made a promise to American Jews.

Myth and Modernity: A Review of Persecution and Toleration

A new take on the origins of our ideas about religious liberty.

Muslims of Early America

Muslims came to America more than a century before Protestants, and in great numbers. How was their history forgotten?
Jemima Wilkison.

The Person Formerly Known as Jemima Wilkinson

Awakening from illness, the newly risen patient announced that Jemima had died and that her body had been requisitioned by God for the salvation of humankind.
A Japanese interment camp used during World War II in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Forgotten Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii

A dark chapter in the history of religious persecution.
Young Japanese American girl Yoshiko Hide Kishi. Tom Hide Collection, Washington State University Libraries' MASC.

The Complex Role Faith Played for Incarcerated Japanese-Americans During World War II

Smithsonian curator of religion Peter Manseau weighs in on a history that must be told.

Revisiting the Prayer at Valley Forge

The fable of George Washington's prayer was meant to foster religious tolerance, not paint him as a pious leader.

The Original Constitution of the United States: Religion, Race, and Gender

The Constitution of 2018 is not the Constitution written by the Framers in 1787, and no one should wish otherwise.
Students from Ramstein Middle School recite Pledge of Allegiance during a Sep. 11 commemoration ceremony

Why Do We Pledge Allegiance?

Few democracies require children to make a daily declaration of fealty to country.
President Trump and religious leaders praying in the Oval Office
partner

Today is a National Day of Prayer. Should That be Legal?

How solid is the wall between church and state?
Thomas Jefferson's two-volume personal copy of George Sale's 1734 translation of the Qur'an. Library of Congress.

Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an

Islam in America dates to the founding fathers, says Smithsonian’s religion curator Peter Manseau.

What the Prisoners’ Rights Movement Owes to the Black Muslims of the 1960s

Black Muslims have been an influential force in the prisoners' rights movement and criminal justice reform.

Why The 'War On Christmas' Just Isn't What It Used To Be

The battle between "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas" goes way deeper than you think.

5 Questions with Ronit Stahl

A Q&A with the author of "Enlisting Faith: How the Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and State in Modern America."
Seal of the County of Lehigh, Pennsylvania

Lehigh County, Pa., Fights the Courts to Keep the Cross in Its Seal

The case hinges on whether its display is to honor local history or Christianity.

The Freedom to Choose Your Religion Comes With a Price

In a new book, a historian explores the American fascination with conversion, and its costs. 
Flag in front of a church.

What Politicians Mean When They Say The United States Was Founded As A Christian Nation

Today's Christian nationalists and liberal secularists both oversimplify the history of the nation's founding.
Pennsylvania ministers Allen Hinand and Ronald Lutz.

The Surprising Role of Clergy in the Abortion Fight Before Roe v. Wade

In the half-decade before Roe v. Wade, respected religious leaders participated in a nationwide struggle to make abortion more accessible.

American Secular

The founding moment of the United States brought a society newly freed from religion. What went wrong?

The Strange Career of Free Exercise

How efforts to bolster religious liberty set off a chain of unintended consequences.
Full text of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, etched in stone.

What Does It Mean To Make America "Christian?"

The "Christian Amendment" and the push for Christianity to be established as the national religion of the United States.
Santa with sack of toys atop chimney
partner

Naughty & Nice: A History of the Holiday Season

Tracing the evolution of Christmas from a drunken carnival to the peaceful, family-oriented, consumeristic ritual we celebrate today.
Bob Jones University sign.

The Real Origins of the Religious Right

They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.

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