Musings with Wilson

Blog by Miriam Izbicki-Wilson

The relationship between Christianity and politics has been debated since the founding of the United States. While many Americans today argue over the role of religion in government, public morality, and political identity, these debates are not new. In the early American Republic, ministers and political leaders frequently connected Christianity to the nation’s survival, arguing that religion shaped morality, civic virtue, and public order. One powerful example appears in Jonathan Bigelow’s 1828 sermon, “Christians Should Support and Defend the Truth,” in which he warned Christians against remaining “neutral” in defending biblical truth amid growing cultural and theological change.

Bigelow delivered the sermon during a period of major religious transformation in the United States. The Second Great Awakening had expanded evangelical Christianity across the nation while also creating divisions between traditional orthodoxy and more liberal theological movements such as Unitarianism. In the sermon, Bigelow repeatedly argued that Christianity was not simply a private belief system but the moral foundation of society itself. He warned that churches must actively defend biblical truth because “truth and error have ever been in keen collision.”

One of the most striking themes in the sermon is Bigelow’s fear that churches were compromising biblical teaching in order to fit into an increasingly intellectual and modern society. He criticized people who attempted to reshape Christianity to fit what he called the “march of intellect” and warned against removing difficult doctrines from Scripture simply because modern thinkers disliked them. In many ways, this argument sounds remarkably familiar in 2026, as churches continue to debate how much they should adapt to modern political and cultural movements.

The sermon also reveals how closely religion and politics were connected in the early republic. Bigelow praised the “churches founded by the Pilgrims” and argued that Christian institutions were necessary for preserving morality and social stability. Although the Constitution created no official national church, many Americans still believed Christianity played a vital role in maintaining the republic. This belief shaped public education, civic celebrations, and political rhetoric throughout the nineteenth century.

Modern political debates continue to reflect many of these same tensions. In 2026, American politics remains deeply divided over issues involving religion, morality, nationalism, and the public role of Christianity. Questions about immigration, abortion, gender identity, religious liberty, and education have caused significant divisions both inside churches and across political parties. Much like the early republic, many Christians today fear either that the church is becoming too political or that it is abandoning moral truth in order to fit modern culture.

Bigelow’s sermon is also important because it demonstrates how American Christians historically viewed the church as a public institution rather than simply a private spiritual community. He argued that churches had a responsibility to actively defend truth, educate the next generation, and shape society morally. Whether one agrees with Bigelow’s theology or not, his sermon reveals that debates over Christianity’s role in public life have existed since the earliest years of the republic.

The continued relevance of these arguments helps explain why studying primary sources matters. Documents like Bigelow’s sermon allow modern readers to see that today’s political and religious conflicts are often extensions of much older American debates. Historical literacy helps students recognize continuity between the past and present rather than assuming modern conflicts suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The arguments over faith, morality, politics, and truth that Americans debate today were already being passionately discussed nearly two hundred years ago.

Side Note: Historical Literacy and Modern Connections

One of the biggest challenges in teaching history today is helping students understand that primary sources are not just “old papers” disconnected from their lives. Many students initially look at documents from the 1800s and immediately assume they are irrelevant, difficult, or impossible to understand. However, when students begin connecting those documents to current political, cultural, and religious debates, history suddenly becomes much more meaningful.

Using Jonathan Bigelow’s 1828 sermon alongside modern discussions of Christianity, politics, morality, and culture helps students recognize that many of today’s debates are not entirely new. Questions about the role of Christianity in public life, fears about cultural change, and concerns about protecting “truth” have existed throughout American history. Making these connections helps students move beyond memorizing names and dates and instead develop historical literacy through analysis, inquiry, contextualization, and discussion.

In a world shaped by AI, social media, and instant information, students no longer need history classes built around rote memorization, since facts can be found instantly. What students truly need are the skills to analyze evidence, identify perspective and bias, ask thoughtful questions, and apply historical thinking to the modern world. Primary sources from the early republic help students build those skills while also making history feel relevant and alive.

Bigelow, Jonathan. Christians should support and defend the truth: a sermon delivered March 12, 1828, at the ordination of Rev[erend] Asahel Bigelow as pastor of the Orthodox Congregational Church in Walpole, Mass. Boston: T. R. Marvin, 1828. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed May 28, 2026). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0111179237/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=2f4b8650&pg=6.