SPECIAL: George Washington's Religion
From Religion in the American Experience by nationalmuseumofamericanreligion
June 5, 2026 · 38 min · Season 4 · Episode 12
About this episode
The episode explores George Washington's religious beliefs and practices based on historical records.
Arnold Friberg’s famous painting of George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge has been in the news. While we are not going to join the conversation about whether or not the painting is an accurate depiction of truth and what this may or may not mean about Washington, his religion, or America, we do want to provide an answer to this question: what does the historical record tell us about George Washington’s religious beliefs and practices? Season 4, Episode 12 – SPECIAL: George Washington’s Religion Guest Bio John Fea is Professor of American History and Chair of the History Department at Messiah College. He is the author or editor of six books including The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society, Why Study History? Reflecting on the Importance of the Past, and Was America Founded as a Christian Nation: A Historical Introduction. His essays and reviews have appeared in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. Show notes: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5747094/church-and-state-george-washington Podcast Support Scholarly support provided by Dr. Lauren Turek, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Technical audio…
People in this episode
Guest: John Fea
Topics covered
- George Washington
- religion
- American history
- historical beliefs
- Valley Forge
- Christian nation
Keywords
- George Washington
- religion
- history
- Valley Forge
- Christianity
- American history
- John Fea
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Messiah College, National Museum of American Religion
Places: San Antonio, Texas, Valley Forge
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