Revolutionary Religion: How Voluntary Action and Religion Shaped the American Revolution

Religion has often been central to revolutionary movements throughout history by serving as the impetus for rebellion, mobilizing and organizing volunteers, and shaping the moral foundations of the revolutionaries themselves. To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this program invites members of the Central Indiana community to ponder how religion and voluntary action shaped the American Revolution and how these themes reverberate throughout history, even to the current moment. 

Through a collaborative event from the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Spirit & Place, and WFYI, scholars will explore key areas of religion and volunteering during the founding of our nation through the present day, framed through the Faith and Freedom screener reel from the Ken Burns, Sara Botstein, and David Schmidt’s recent documentary, The American Revolution. 

During the event, a clip from The American Revolution will be shown and expanded upon by scholars, who will share their expertise and experience about a corresponding theme. Audience members will be invited to engage in conversation about big ideas from each part of the program, at the national level, the local level, and individual level. Participants will leave with a digital resource guide to continue their own learning, reflection, and action about religion, voluntary action, and the American Revolution. 

Wednesday, June 3 | 6:00 PM

Eskenazi Hall in the Herron School of Art and Design

Indiana University, Indianapolis

735 W New York St, Indianapolis, IN 46202

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Meet The Speakers

Elisabeth S. Clemens

Elisabeth S. Clemens is William Rainey Harper Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology and the College at the University of Chicago. Her research explores the role of social movements and organizational innovation in political change. Clemens’ first book, The People’s Lobby: Organizational Innovation and the Rise of Interest Group Politics in the United States, 1890-1925 (Chicago, 1997), received best book awards in both organizational sociology and political sociology. She is also co-editor of Private Action and the Public Good (Yale, 1998), Remaking Modernity: Politics, History and Sociology (Duke, 2005), and Politics and Partnerships: Voluntary Associations in America’s Past and Present (Chicago, 2010).  Her most recent book, Civic Gifts:  Voluntarism and the Making of the American Nation-State (Chicago 2020), traces the tense but powerful entanglements of benevolence and liberalism in American political development.  Currently, she is exploring the co-evolution of industries and the American state in post-war governance, specifically the shifting ways in which citizens entitled to benefits have (and have not) been insulated from commodification. 

James P. Byrd

James P. Byrd is Professor of American Religious History, Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair of Wesleyan Studies, and Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research. Byrd’s publications include “A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood”: The Bible and the American Civil War (Oxford University Press, 2021), Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2013), and his latest book, The Story of Religion in America: An Introduction (WJK, 2021), co-authored with James Hudnut-Beumler.