The Influence of Religion on the American Founding and Revolution: In Celebration of the Semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence

Dear Colleagues,

As the United States approaches the Semiquincentennial of the signing of its Declaration of Independence, this Special Issue looks to the broad scope of the influence of religion on the founding of America. Within 250 years, the nature of this political experiment has garnered an array of opinions regarding its political–religious foundation, from arguments on secular enlightenment (Marx 1843; Dworkin 1977; Rorty 1993; Habermas 1996; Israel 2001; Jacob 2006; Nussbaum 2011; Stewart 2014; Harari 2015) to religious orthodoxy (Frazer 2012; Hartog 2015; Dreisbach 2017; Hall 2019). Owen Anderson (2015) attributes this to the ambiguity created by the Declaration's lack of a definition for nature's god. Today, the very nature of the rights articulated in the Declaration still seem to be under debate, whether based in Natural Law (Strauss 1953; Nozick 1974; Finnis 1980; Zuckert 1994; Arkes 2002; Hittinger 2003; Witte 2007; Cooper and Dyer 2022) or dependent on the political apparatus of the State (Waldron 1987; Tuck 1979; Skinner 1996; Hart 1961; Shklar 1998). While positions are usually nuanced, writers across the spectrum argue for a historical milieu as the ultimate rationale behind the original syllogism, which may or may not have some lasting relevance to society (Niebuhr 1933; MacIntyre 1984). Ironically, much of the popular argument for the State as the locus of human rights, rather than a metaphysical source, comes from those whose rights are most affected by this discussion—the Church and the Press (Cuomo 2015; Sheaffer 2020; Przbyla 2024). Even the historicity of the founding has been called into question in the last decade (Hannah-Jones 2019). What are we to make of such a wide disparity of opinion on the political–religious and philosophical foundations of the American system established in the United States, let alone on the historicity of those events? As Dr. Arnn (2024) articulates in a video series produced by Hillsdale College in coordination with the White House's plans for the 250th celebration, "If it was not true then, it is not true now." It would seem that if we are to properly celebrate 250 years, we should know what it is we are celebrating.

Many studies on the founding ultimately argue around the religious elephant in the room, with some arguing that assent to a metaphysical source for rights is not necessary to embrace inalienable rights (Allen 2014). Wolterstorff (1997) agrees that a consensus is not required beyond the acknowledgement that “There is something about each of us that merits respect by each treating each as free and equal." Contrast this with Rawlsinian (1971) reciprocity, which demands that there be a consensus (97ff). Biggar (2011) provides a sympathetic interpretation of Rawls’s overlapping consensus, arguing that Rawls is not calling for neutral language in public discourse or what he calls public reasonableness. Regardless of which side of the argument one lands, assumptions are made about the nature of human beings, a principle that demands consensus from the “original position.” But this is not a position that disagrees with the concept of equality; rather, it is a position that disagrees on what the basis for equality is. We therefore find ourselves at a place the Founders did not, because the theological truth of equality for them was taken for granted. Jefferson, for example, might dispute the divinity of Christ, but he recognized a providential Creator from whom equality was bestowed on humanity. Additionally, an argument can be made that he and the Founders operated within a Christian Classical Natural Law political atmosphere, which gave birth to this unified belief in an equality bestowed by the Creator (Cooper and Dyer 2022). There is no basis for human equality outside of a metaphysical source that can withstand both logical argument and human caprice to curtail that equality for subjective motivations.

Aims of this Special Issue:

The aim of this Special Issue, therefore, is to celebrate and advance the robust reason for which the religious, philosophical, and cultural zeitgeist of the founding of the United States took place. This was a highly public discussion, a discussion ripe with revelatory and philosophical language, from the pulpits of individual state churches to the rostrums in which political assent was sought. McCoy and Baker (1991) argue that the very foundation of federalism upon which the U.S. political structure was established has its tenants in revelatory language. This Issue thus casts a wide political–theological and historical net in order to celebrate that robust public arena in which the United States was born.

Potential topics include the following:

• Primary sermons during the Founding Era and their influence on the development of the doctrine of inalienable rights.
• The role of religion in the development of the United States’ form of federalism.
• Novel theories on the viability of the Judeo-Christian tradition as an enduring cultural influence across historical epochs (MacIntyre).
• The Imago Dei as unifying foundation for human equality in the Declaration of Independence.
• Novel discussions of the Hobbesian versus Lockean foundation for American Revolution and the role of religion in their mutually exclusive political enterprises.
• The political–theological debate in the context of the American Revolution.
• Novel discussions about observations by Marx and others on the lack of federal religion during the founding of the U.S.
• Novel discussions on the establishment of the 250th Anniversary of the establishment of the Army Chaplain Corps.
• Novel discussions on the establishment of the 250th Anniversary of the establishment of the Navy Chaplain Corps.
• Novel discussions on radical versus moderate enlightenment influences on the founding of the U.S. and their views on revelatory language during that founding.

Article Types:

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. As a celebration of the Semiquincentennial, we also welcome papers that provide anthologies or collections of thought around religion and politico-religious themes as they focus on the American founding/Revolution. 

We request a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Dr. Thomas Cook (ttcook3@liberty.edu) and Dr. Boleslaw Z. Kabala (bkabala@gmail.com), Dr. Jesse Chupp (jachupp2@liberty.edu) and CC the Assistant Editor, Ms. Margaret Liu (margaret.liu@mdpi.com), of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

A tentative timeline:

Deadline for abstract submission: 1 February 2026

Deadline for full manuscript submission: 1 June 2026

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Thomas Cook
Dr. Bolek Z. Kabala
Dr. Jess Chupp
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• religious beliefs and practices during the American Revolution
• Declaration of Independence
• pulpits of the American Revolution
• Natural Law and the American founding
• Imago Dei and inalienable rights
• religion and inalienable rights
• historical development of inalienable rights
• enlightenment—radical and moderate