AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN RANDALL BALMER
NEWPORT, RI (AUGUST 11, 2025) Newport, RI’s Charter Books, in partnership with the Newport Historical Society, present an evening with historian Randall Balmer, author of America’s Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. This event will take place on August 28 from 6:30-7:30pm at 7th Day Baptist Meeting House in Newport. Balmer will discuss his newly released book, filled with stories from America’s struggle for religious freedom most readers have never heard before and perfect for fans of Jesus and John Wayne and On Tyranny.
Balmer will deliver a presentation on his book, released on August 5, followed by a Q&A and book signing. Tickets are $20 non-NHS member, $15 NHS Member & Active/Retired Military, $10 student with valid ID. Charter Books will be present with a booth to sell Balmer’s books.
RANDALL BALMER EVENT DETAILS
Date: THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2025
Time: 6:30pm – 7:00pm
Place: 7th Day Baptist Meeting House, 82 Touro St, Newport, RI 02840
ABOUT AMERICA’S BEST IDEA: THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE:
The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution codified the principle that government should play no role in favoring or supporting any religion, while allowing free exercise of all religions (including unbelief). More than 200 years later, the results from this experiment are overwhelming: The separation of church and state has shielded the government from religious factionalism, and the United States boasts a diverse religious culture unmatched in the world.
But changes have been taking place at an accelerating pace in recent years. The current Supreme Court has shifted away from excluding the influence and practice of religion at public institutions and in our laws and policies, and moved dramatically toward protecting the inclusion and promotion of religion in publicly funded undertakings.
Moreover, adherents to a Christian Nationalism ideology have grown more vocal and emboldened, and are increasingly moving into positions of power.
Randall Balmer, one of the premier historians of religion in America, reviews both the history of the separation of church and state and various attempts to undermine that wall. Despite the fact that the 1st Amendment and the separation of church and state has served the nation remarkably well, he argues, its future is by no means assured.
ABOUT RANDALL BALMER
Randall Balmer is the John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter, God in the White House: A History: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, which is now in its fifth edition and has been made into an award-winning three-part series for PBS, and most recently, Bad Faith: The Rise of the Religious Right.
ABOUT THE NEWPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Founded in 1854, the purpose of the Newport Historical Society is to collect, document and preserve Newport’s unique contribution to our national narrative over the course of five centuries. Their continuing mission is to chronicle, advocate for the importance of, and communicate this history to a broad audience, so that knowledge of the past will contribute to a deeper understanding of the present and better preparation for the future.
ABOUT CHARTER BOOKS
