The Godless Constitution and the Providential Republic

by Steven D. Smith

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2025

Overview

Were America’s founding ideals religious or secular?

In this timely and well-researched book, law scholar Steven D. Smith makes the case that the United States of America was founded on a providentialist view—the belief that God actively directs the destinies not only of individuals but of nations. Smith shows how this providentialist perspective was pervasively, officially, and unapologetically expressed in essential public documents like the Declaration of Independence and by presidents from Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Lincoln to modern presidents including FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Obama. A crucial point in Smith’s argument is that the Constitution neither prescribed nor forbade this providentialist understanding; it was like an agnostic parent who allowed their children the freedom to follow a religious or nonreligious path, as they wished.

In modern times, by contrast, the courts and the legal and academic communities have frequently misinterpreted the Constitution as mandating governance that is completely secular. In so doing, they have effectively banished the providentialist perspective from American public philosophy. The consequences of this banishment have been deeply disruptive, contributing to dangerous polarization and lack of trust in government and other public institutions.

Smith’s compelling study is an essential resource for making sense of current debates about the place of religion in American public life. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the extent to which secular neutrality is not mandated by the Constitution but rather is a modern invention with little grounding in the nation’s history.

Key Features

• Shows how this providentialist perspective was pervasively.
• Makes the case that the United States of America was founded on a providentialist view.>
• Gives a deeper understanding of the extent to which secular neutrality is not mandated by the Constitution

Contents

Table of Contents

Prologue: Atheism and the Constitution

Part 1: A Godless Document?

1. Atheist or Agnostic?

2. The Establishment Clause in the Godless Constitution

Part 2: The Providential Republic and Its (Official) Demise

3. Providentialism in America

4. Civil Religion and Its Discontents

5. Providence Banished

Part 3: Providentialism and the Travails of Liberalism

6. Liberalism without Foundations

7. Canceling the American Past?

Epilogue: “Only a God Can Save Us”

Index

Product Details

• Title: The Godless Constitution and the Providential Republic
• Author: Steven D. Smith
• Series: Religious Liberty
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2025
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 250
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Law and religion; Godless government; Providential Republic
• ISBNs: 9781467469746, 1467469742
• Resource ID: LLS:THGLSCTNTHPVTLRPC
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-11-26T02:38:43Z

About Steven D. Smith

Steven D. Smith is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, where he also codirects the Institute for Law and Philosophy and the Institute for Law and Religion. He won the 2022 Notre Dame Religious Liberty Initiative Scholarship Award for his accomplishments in the field of law and religion. His publications include Pagans and Christians in the City: Culture Wars from the Tiber to the Potomac and The Rise and Decline of American Religious Freedom.