Everywhere and Nowhere: Recent Trends in American Religious History and Historiography

A spat of recent polls show that Americans are as religious as ever, even if their affiliations to particular faith groups have somewhat faded Furthermore, during the past two decades, historians of American religion have unearthed much new information, connecting American religion to broader Currents of American life in numerous exciting ways. Despite these two events, we argue that religion has yet to become central to the way in which most historians of modern America (since 1865) tell their story-except in areas that are either racialized (the civil rights movement) or considered to be politically marginal (the New Right). Religion is everywhere in history, but nowhere in mainstream historiography. We explore some possible reasons for this fact, and then conclude by pointing out several directions in which religious history is currently moving, and in which an examination by mainstream scholars might benefit the field as a whole tremendously.