Religion in the American Experience

nationalmuseumofamericanreligion
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Learning from scholars and every day Americans about what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion, helping all of us better comprehend and perpetuate the American experiment in self-government, including what is perhaps its greatest innovation and the essence of the American project: religious freedom as defined by the Constitution’s Article VI and First Amendment religion clauses.

  1. FEB 10

    History of Religious Freedom in the U.S. with Chris Beneke

    Join us during America’s 250th as we uncover the long and fascinating history of religious freedom in the United States, considered by many to be one of its greatest innovations, which will equip us to be more effective at perpetuating the American experiment in self-government. Season 4, Episode 2 – History of Religious Freedom in the U.S. with Chris Beneke  Guest Bio Chris Beneke is Professor and Associate Dean of First Year Experience and the Bentley Core at Bentley University. His research interests include American religious history, history of religious toleration, baseball and American history and American intellectual history. Dr. Beneke is the author of many books, including Free Exercise: Religion, the First Amendment, and the Making of America and The Lively Experiment: Religious Toleration in America from Roger Williams to the Present. Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the private, digital-first National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of how religion has influenced America and how America has influenced religion. This includes the establishment of religious freedom in the United States Constitution’s Article VI and Bill of Rights religion clauses.

    54 min
  2. The Erie Canal's Influence on American Religion

    JAN 26

    The Erie Canal's Influence on American Religion

    The Erie Canal is an outstanding example of a human artifact creating and facilitating new religious movements. Within 25 years of its opening, the Erie Canal cultivated extraordinary experimental spiritual groups including the Mormons, the Adventists, Spiritualism, a revived Apocalypticism, utopian communal societies such as the Oneida Community, with the Amana Colony and Shakers passing through, as well as the emotion-laden revivals of the Second Great Awakening. The Canal also engendered the religiously infused social movements of abolition, women’s suffrage, and temperance. And because of its key location and function as the link between east and west, the repercussions of canal-formed spiritual experiments rippled across the continent with westward expansion, creating unique currents of religion in the United States into the present day. Better understanding this particular religious thread in the American tapestry will equip us to be more effective citizens in the work of perpetuating our democracy with its world-changing innovation of religious freedom as defined by the U.S. constitution’s Article VI and the Bill of Rights religion clauses.   Season 4, Episode 1 – The Erie Canal and American Religion Guest Bio S.B. Rodríguez-Plate is a professor of religious studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and author of many books including A History of Religion in 5 ½ Objects: Bringing the Spiritual to Its Senses, and Religion and Film: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World. S.B. investigates the ways people connect with physical objects through sense perception: the things we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch are what give people their spiritual dimension. Matthew Smith is Visiting Professor of History and the Regional Director of Public Programming at Miami University of Ohio’s Hamilton, New York regional campus. Matthew’s research interests include American religious history, Appalachia, The Ohio Valley, and Trans-Atlantic immigration. Dr. Smith is the author of The Spires Still Point to Heaven: Cincinnati's Religious Landscape, 1788-1873   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the private, digital-first National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion. This includes the establishment of religious freedom in the United States Constitution’s Article VI and Bill of Rights religion clauses.

    51 min
  3. "No god but God" Twentieth Anniversary

    12/30/2025

    "No god but God" Twentieth Anniversary

    Reza Aslan’s No god but God, a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award, just celebrated its 20th anniversary. With the book, Dr. Aslan attempted to explain Islam, in all its beauty and complexity, just 4 years after 9/11. On this episode we will explore the American religious landscape at that time and now, the how and why of the book then, and what it means today.   Season 3, Episode 37 – No god but God Twentieth Anniversary   Guest Bio Reza Aslan is a renowned writer, commentator, professor, Emmy- and Peabody-nominated producer, and scholar of religions.  He is the author of numerous internationally bestselling books, including No god but God and the #1 New York Times Bestseller Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, currently in development at Fremantle Media with Pablo Larrain attached to direct. A former Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and recipient of the prestigious James Joyce Award, Aslan has helped craft the mythologies for Hollywood’s most acclaimed franchises, including Dune, Game of Thrones, and The Leftovers. In addition to his writing and production work, he has served as host and executive producer of CNN’s Believer and Rough Draft with Reza Aslan, and co-hosts the podcast Metaphysical Milkshake alongside Rainn Wilson. His latest book, An American Martyr in Persia, was nominated for the PEN/Jacqueline Beograd Weld Award.   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the private, digital-first National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion. This includes the establishment of religious freedom in the United States Constitution’s Article VI and Bill of Rights religion clauses.

    41 min
  4. St. Luke's Historic Church and Museum

    11/25/2025

    St. Luke's Historic Church and Museum

    The oldest church in Virginia was built by the Anglicans in the late 17th century near Portsmouth. In the 1950s President Dwight D. Eisenhower exchanged letters with the organization that was renovating it at the time of nearby Jamestown’s 350th anniversary (1957), and called it a “national shrine.”   https://stlukesmuseum.org/ https://stlukesmuseum.org/edu-blog/letter-from-president-eisenhower-to-hsl/   Season 3, Episode 36 – St. Luke’s Historic Church and Museum   Guest Bio John Ericson is the Executive Director and Site Historian for St Luke's Historic Church & Museum in Smithfield Virginia. He produces a podcast about the early American religious experience called History from the Old Brick Church. Mr. Ericson has expertise in the history of the Established Church of England in the Colonies, as well in the dissenting groups such as Pilgrims (Brownists), Puritans, and Quakers. He has also studied how the Established Church sought to coerce the Indigenous and African populations in Virginia through the Brafferton and Bray Schools as well as through legislation.   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the private, digital-first National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of how religion has shaped America and how America has shaped religion. This includes the establishment of religious freedom in the United States Constitution’s Article VI and Bill of Rights religion clauses.

    33 min
  5. American Religion: The Nation of Islam

    10/24/2025

    American Religion: The Nation of Islam

    Today we are going to pull on this thread of the American religious tapestry: The Nation of Islam, a 20th century American religious movement brought to national consciousness by 1960s Black Power, Muhammad Ali and Malcom X, and which also has a deep and significant history with implications for 21st century work in the public square. To do this, Joseph Stuart, an assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University and a well-known expert on Nation of Islam, has agreed to help.   Additional resources: Judith Weisenfeld, New World A-Coming: Black Religion and Racial Identity during the Great Migration Ula Y. Taylor, The Promise of Patriarchy: Women and the Nation of Islam Edward Curtis IV, Black Muslim Religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975 Erdmann Doane Beynon, "The Voodoo Cult Among Negro Migrants in Detroit" James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time   Season 3, Episode 35 – American Religion: The Nation of Islam   Guest Bio Dr. Joseph Stuart is a scholar of African American history, particularly of the relationship between race, masculinity, civil rights, and religion in twentieth-century Black Freedom Movements. He has a B.A. in American Studies from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Utah. His forthcoming book manuscript examines the Nation of Islam’s racial and masculine ideologies to understand how and why some Black American groups opposed integration in the mid-twentieth century United States. The project traces the Nation of Islam’s founding from its origins in Great Depression Detroit to its schism following the Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975 and its “restoration” under Louis Farrakhan. Joseph's research has been published in academic journals and edited collections, including Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, American Quarterly, the Journal of Mormon History, and Religion & Politics. He is also a contributing research associate to the Century of Black Mormons Project. He has hosted and produced podcasts for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and the New Books Network.   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the private, digital-first National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion. This includes the establishment of religious freedom in the United States Constitution’s Article VI and Bill of Rights religion clauses.

    49 min
  6. Special Edition: The Antichrist in American History

    10/06/2025

    Special Edition: The Antichrist in American History

    On Sunday, September 28th Thomas Jacob Sanford drove his truck into a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan during their services. He opened fire with his gun killing two worshippers, then set the building on fire killing two more. Eight others were injured and the church was completely destroyed. He was killed in the parking lot by local law enforcement. Mr. Sanford, as reported by someone who talked with him earlier that week, believed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the “Antichrist.” Where has the concept of “the Antichrist” appeared in American history and how can this help us understand what happened in Michigan?   Season 3, Episode 34 – Special Edition: The Antichrist in American History   Guest Bios Dr. Matt Sutton is the Berry Family Distinguished Professor in the Liberal Arts at Washington State University and author of American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism. His new book Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity will be published in early 2026.   Dr. Christopher Blythe is assistant professor of English at Brigham Young University and, importantly, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   Both have expertise in Christian theology as it relates to the United States of America.   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion.

    31 min
  7. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    09/24/2025

    The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., dedicated in November 1982, is located in Constitution Gardens just off the north-east corner of the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial is composed of two adjoining walls, which have inscribed on them the names of over 58,000 servicemen and women who gave their lives in service in the Vietnam conflict. The walls taper from 8 inches tall at their extremities to over 10 feet tall at the apex where they meet, their bottom edges descending below the level of the surrounding earth while their top edges stay level. The memorial now includes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall, the Three Servicemen statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial and the In Memory plaque. It is one of the most visited war memorials in the United States and attracts more than 5 million visitors annually. We are interested in understanding the religious threads, if there be any, that are part of the fabric of this stunning and meaningful memorial.   Season 3, Episode 33 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial   Guest Bio Arnold E. Resnicoff was born in Washington, DC and attended Dartmouth College where he studied drama. Arnie then served a tour in Vietnam, including as part of "Operation Game Warden," the campaign to keep the rivers free of Viet Cong infiltrators. After the war he became a rabbi then a chaplain in the U.S. Navy, serving in that position for twenty-five years. Chaplain Resnicoff was part of the small group of veterans who worked to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, delivering the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. He was in Beirut on that fateful day when the Marine barracks were bombed on October 23rd, 1983. His eyewitness report, written at the request of the White House, was read in full by President Ronald Reagan as a keynote speech to the 20,000 attendees of Jerry Falwell's "Baptist Fundamentalism '84" convention. Arnie was the first Jewish chaplain to attend the Naval War College, and the first chaplain of any faith to teach a course there (or at any military war college), "Faith and Force: Religion, War, and Peace." He served as Command Chaplain for the US European Command, the "top chaplain" for US chaplains of all faiths in all branches of the armed forces in all of Europe and most of Africa. Arnie has offered more prayers to open sessions of the House and Senate as guest chaplain than any other rabbi in history. After retirement from the Navy, he served as National Director for Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, and Special Assistant for Values and Vision to the Secretary and Chief-of-Staff of the U.S. Air Force, a position that carried with it the military equivalent rank of brigadier general.    Arnie gave a prayer at the November 13, 1982 Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which you can watch here: https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-1982-vietnam-veterans-memorial-dedication-closing-prayer/3724411 Jim Knotts is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), the nonprofit organization that built The Wall in 1982. He is an Air Force veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a graduate of the Air Force Academy. For the past 10 years, he has led the efforts at VVMF to honor the service and sacrifices of Vietnam veterans. Jim previously worked in industry at Lockheed Martin headquarters, where he was Director of Corporate Citizenship, including philanthropy and community outreach, and Director of Web Communications. During his almost ten years in the Air Force, his career spanned service in the Persian Gulf War, at the headquarters of U.S. Southern Command, and in the Pentagon on the Office of the Secretary of Defense Staff.   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion.

    38 min
  8. Religion and Rock 'n' Roll

    08/25/2025

    Religion and Rock 'n' Roll

    Rock and Roll is a well-known musical genre in the United States and throughout the world. Many of us, including me, grew up with it and with the understanding that some adults, especially religious leaders, were at least wary of it (I was a teenager in the 80s). Needless to say, Rock and Roll is a solid part of the American narrative. On this episode we will explore the ways religion, specifically Christianity, interacted with it. This will be a fascinating tale.   Season 3, Episode 32: Religion and Rock n Rol   Guest Bio Randall J. Stephens is professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo and is a historian of religion, conservatism, the South, environmentalism, and popular culture and is the author of several books including The Fire Spreads: Holiness and Pentecostalism in the American South and The Devil’s Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock ’n’ Roll. Dr. Stephens received his BA in History at Mid America Nazarene College and his PhD in American History from the University of Florida. In the 1990s Randall was part of a band called Jetenderpaul. This is the AllMusic link to the band: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jetenderpaul-mn0000346797   Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio and video assistance provided by Dr. Randall Stephens, a Professor of American and British Studies at the University of Oslo. Religion in the American Experience is a podcast of the National Museum of American Religion, which tells the story of what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion.

    55 min
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Learning from scholars and every day Americans about what religion has done to America and what America has done to religion, helping all of us better comprehend and perpetuate the American experiment in self-government, including what is perhaps its greatest innovation and the essence of the American project: religious freedom as defined by the Constitution’s Article VI and First Amendment religion clauses.

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  • Creator
    nationalmuseumofamericanreligion
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    80
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Religion in the American Experience