Christians in the American Public Square: Stories of Faith in Congress

This is a brief history of Christians in American politics, from the Second Great Awakening to the present. It will bring the example of William Wilberforce into the American experience, highlighting figures such as Theodore Dwight Weld (the evangelical abolitionist who did the research that led to Uncle Tom’s Cabin) and Samuel Worcester (the missionary who defended the Cherokee Indians).  The main focus of the talk, though, will be on several practical modern politicians who are also Evangelical Protestants and were both members of the U.S. House of Representatives: Albert Quie (in Congress 1958-79) and Frank Wolf (in Congress 1981-2015).  A great advocate of human rights worldwide, Frank Wolf was one of the primary authors of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.