Vocal Point-William J. Federer

Topic: The American Population in 1776.

According to author Ben Hart, writing in 1988, at the time of American independence, 98.4% of the American population were professing Protestant Christians. 1.4% were professing Catholic Christians. That means that 99.8% were professing Christians in America around 1776. Many of these were from England, of course. They were from Ireland and Scotland. Some were from Germany. In the 1700s, there were a few 100s of 1000s of Presbyterians who came to America. Many of these were independence minded and played a key role in the push for American independence. Historian and author Bill Federer has compiled much research about the Christian faith and early America, America’s God and Country, a book that has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. Bill Federer joins Jerry Newcombe to discuss the American population around the time of 1776.