Sunday Spotlight: The American Founding

Since its very founding, the writers of First Things have been concerned with the American Founding. Now, one week before the semiquincentennial celebration of the Founding, take a moment to reflect on that momentous event. From the archive, three articles on the nature of the Founding, the nature of America, and the place of religion in it.

FROM THE MARCH 2006 ISSUE

The Founding of Nations

WILFRED M. MCCLAY

When we speak of foundings, we substitute an architectural and engineering metaphor of foundations for a biological metaphor of evolution.

FROM THE JUNE/JULY 2025 ISSUE

Is America a Creedal Nation?

DAVID P. GOLDMAN

America has no memory of an existence before its Christian founding. We created a Christian memory by appropriating the history of Israel.

FROM THE APRIL 2003 ISSUE

The Faith of the Founding

MICHAEL NOVAK

While the American Republic had no established church, the American state took a positive and benign attitude toward the full, free, and quite visibly public exercise of religion.