The evangelical movement began in the revivals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, known in America as the Great Awakenings. A populist rebellion against the established churches, it became the dominant religious force in the country. During the nineteenth century white evangelicals split apart dramatically, first North versus South, and then at the end of the century, modernist versus fundamentalist. After World War II, Billy Graham, the...

During the First World War, nearly half a million immigrant draftees from forty-six different nations served in the U.S. Army. This surge of Old World soldiers challenged the American military's cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions and required military leaders to reconsider their training methods for the foreign-born troops. How did the U.S. War Department integrate this diverse group into a united fighting force?The war department drew...

Since 2001, some 150 graduates of Regent University-the institution founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson-have worked in the Bush administration. Bill Moyers Journal attends Regent's commencement ceremonies for a closer look at its stated mission: to equip Christian leaders to change the world. Also on the program, Nick Gillespie, editor-in-chief of the libertarian magazine Reason, discusses the influence of the religious right in Washington, and historian...

Ben-Gurion's founding principles of the Israeli state were security and immigration. This program examines the history of Jewish immigration and the conflux of cultures that exist within the broader cultural/religious identity of the Israeli population. In addition to identifying as Jewish, Israelis also identify themselves as Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Libyan, Algerian, Yemenite, and Ethiopian. Yet as the Jewish state prospers and grows,...

This history of the American West is a study in contrast: great triumphs side by side with terrible tragedies. In the 1830s the Mormons formed a uniquely American religious group and against all odds the carved a prosperous kingdom out of the most inhospitable wilderness. In the midst of this shining heritage hides a dark secret, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, one of the bloodiest incidents in the history of the frontier.

On January 7, 2005, 29-year-old Ricky Rodriguez recorded his final thoughts as he prepared to embark on a violent rampage of revenge. Raised to be a prophet and a savior, Ricky was about to become an executioner, and a grim lesson in religious fanaticism. His attempt to exact justice led to two violent deaths, including his own. This ABC News report investigates the Christian sect Children of God, now known as Family International, and features San-Francisco-based...

Features interviews with religious leaders and politicians as they are asked what inspires them in these challenging times, as more and more people are turning to religion and spirituality to gain a sense of meaning and understanding with what they are facing.

Fighting Words profiles five journalists who published the truth as they saw it, no matter how their reporting angered politicians, social and religious leaders, or other journalists.

The five journalists are William Brann (1855–1898), Don Biggers (1868–1957), John Granbery (1874–1953), Archer Fullingim (1902–1984), and Stoney Burns [Brent Stein] (1942–2011). Though they lived in different eras, all these men dealt

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-- Publishers Weekly Since the 1970s, the Religious Right has established itself as a coalition of fundamentalist powerbrokers who set the standard for Christian political values. But, as religion reporter Jack Jenkins contends, the country is also driven by a vibrant, long-standing moral force from the left. Taking many forms and many names, the Religious Left has operated since America’s founding—praying, and protesting for progressive values...