Raymond R. Roberts to discuss faith and America’s founding in Baltimore

Historian and pastor Raymond R. Roberts will speak June 20 at Catonsville Presbyterian Church in Baltimore about how religion and public theology shaped the American founding. The event is tied to his new book and comes as the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary. Why it matters: - Roberts is using America’s 250th anniversary to argue that religion, public theology and the nation’s founding principles are closely connected. - The talk aims to connect historical ideas to current concerns about democratic culture, religious freedom and civic life. - Roberts frames the book as a way to strengthen democratic commitments by renewing theological and moral resources. What happened: - Raymond R. Roberts will speak Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 7 p.m. EST at Catonsville Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. - The public event is titled around how religion inspired a revolution and helped create a republic. - Roberts will discuss ideas from his new book, A Democratic and Republican Faith: A Public Theology for a Church and Nation in Crisis , published in April 2026. - The church event page is available here . The details: - Roberts plans to focus on theological ideas that influenced the founding generation and the creation of the U.S. republic. - Roberts says the founding generation understood core constitutional principles in light of religious convictions. - Those principles include the rule of law, religious freedom, sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, human rights, equality before the law and federalism. - Roberts will also highlight John Witherspoon, the only clergy member to sign the Declaration of Independence. - Roberts describes Witherspoon as a “forgotten founder” because many people do not know his name or his influence as president of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University. - The book draws on nine principles of public theology: theocentrism, creation, imago Dei, natural law, sin, hope, vocation, covenant and ecclesiology. - Roberts argues that recovering those ideas could help Protestants find renewed purpose. - Roberts says the deeper meaning of those concepts could also help people outside religion work together toward a better future. - The book is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook form More information . - Wipf and Stock also lists the book publisher listing . Between the lines: - Roberts is presenting the founding era as a religious as well as political story, which pushes against readings of American history that treat faith as peripheral. - The argument also suggests that religious language can still support civic unity in a secular democracy. - Roberts links the book’s title to Alexis de Tocqueville, who described America’s success as rooted in a “Democratic and Republican Religion” among early North American colonists. - The event’s question-and-answer format suggests Roberts will frame the talk as both historical interpretation and present-day diagnosis. What’s next: - Roberts will take audience questions on June 20 about the book, signs of crisis in the church and democracy, and how people of different faiths and political views can help rebuild American democracy. - The talk may serve as a launch point for broader discussion around the book’s themes as the 250th anniversary of the United States continues. - Roberts’ website is available here .