Recent reports that nearly 20 percent of Americans believe Barack Obama is a Muslim have been widely discussed and analyzed. Moreover, according to surveys, only a third of Americans believe he is a Christian. Evangelicals are almost evenly divided, with…

Last month Julia Gillard was elected prime minister of Australia. Gillard is Australia’s first female and first unmarried prime minister. Even more remarkably, she won Australia’s highest office after openly declaring that she is an atheist.
It is extremely unlikely…

This September 12 marks the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s historic speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in which he countered religious objections to his candidacy and promised to honor the separation of church and state. This speech…

As we celebrate the Fourth of July this year, our attention will once again turn to such luminaries as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. However, another founder who made substantial contributions to American independence,…

A recent article in the New York Times Magazine, titled “How Christian Were the Founders?” has evoked extensive discussion, as has the decision of the Texas State Board of Education to include more religious content in social studies books, which…

What made George Washington the most remarkable man of an extraordinary generation? He was not an intellectual giant like Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or James Madison. Compared with most other founders, he was not well educated (he attended…

One of today’s most contentious culture wars is over the religious commitments of our nation’s founders. Were most of them orthodox Christians, deists, or agnostics? Scholarly books, college classes, radio talk shows, and blogs all debate this issue, and the…

Dear Mr. President,
Remember all the analysis immediately after your election this past November regarding where you and your family would attend church? Newspapers and websites were filled with stories about where you would go, and numerous congregations in Washington…

During the turmoil of the 1970s, Pittsburgh became known as the city of champions. Led by two very charismatic and colorful players—Roberto Clemente in 1971 and Willie Stargell in 1979—the Pirates won the World Series twice. Meanwhile, blessed with a…

[Today], Feb. 12, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The relatively short history of our nation makes this a particularly momentous milestone. Of all of our leaders after the founders, only Franklin Roosevelt approaches Lincoln’s renown and stature.…