Secularism in nineteenth-century America: a history

This project investigates the neglected history of secularism in the United States. In contemporary political and academic discourse, the nineteenth century is imagined as a golden age of religious activism. By focusing on a series of Church-State controversies across the nineteenth century, this project uncovers a popular and flourishing secularist movement dedicated to removing religion from the public square. The study thus shows that secularism, which historians have relegated to the margins of the American past, was in fact a powerful movement in terms of its impact on nineteenth-century society and its legacy for Americans today.