This year during America’s 250th anniversary, we are paying particular attention to how religion figured into the people and events of the country’s founding era.

In May of 1776 Presbyterian minister John Witherspoon gave a unique sermon entitled The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men, which created quite a stir. What is in this sermon that would raise eyebrows, who exactly was John Witherspoon, and what influence did the sermon and preacher have on the creation of the United States?

We believe that understanding this thread in America’s religious fabric will make each of us more effective stewards of religion’s role in the American experiment in self-government.

Season 4, Episode 19 – How Did John Witherspoon’s Sermon Influence the American Revolution?

Guest Bio

Gideon Mailer is Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include the evolution of liberty, beginning with the ancient Anglo-Scottish constitutional framework and culminating in the establishment of the United States of America. Gideon is the author of The Character of Freedom: The Scottish Enlightenment and American Slavery and John Witherspoon’s American Revolution.

SHOWNOTES:

https://youtu.be/Fa1ad9QCv_s?si=QJPlLRzkVKG9P_se

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 II, Section 1 “Oath or Affirmation” clause; Article VI “no religious Test” clause ; and the two Bill of Rights religion clauses.