S6E42 Randall Balmer on the Scopes Trial and the Separation of Church and State

Today I welcome a familiar voice and a longtime friend—Dr. Randall Balmer. Back in the day, when we were “Trinity Men,” he was “Randy” to me. Today, he’s Dr. Balmer—historian, author, professor, and one of the leading voices on religion in America. He earned his graduate degrees at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Princeton, and Union Theological Seminary, and this marks our third interview together.

Randall recently published a powerful piece in the Los Angeles Times about the 1925 Scopes Trial—often remembered as the showdown between Genesis and Darwin. He reminds us that the trial wasn’t supposed to be about evolution at all, but that’s where it landed. William Jennings Bryan thundered that “if evolution wins, Christianity goes.” Clarence Darrow countered, “It’s not Scopes on trial—it’s civilization.” Nearly a century later, the questions linger.

Randall also brings us into his latest book, America’s Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. It’s a sweeping story—Roger Williams’s “hedge of separation,” Jefferson’s Danbury letter, Madison, Adams, and the First Amendment—all the way to today’s battles over vouchers, religious schools, and the religious right. Along the way, we’ll talk about court rulings, culture wars, and the ongoing debate over whether America is a Christian nation—or a nation that protects the freedom of every faith, and of no faith at all.

It’s always a rich conversation when Dr. Balmer joins me, and today is no exception. 

Come on along with us! SHOW NOTES