Our history is clear: religions and their leaders have always inspired Americans during times of national tragedy and crisis with their words – their sermons that give their people hope.

Today the country faces a raging global pandemic, now going on twelve months, and its staggering effects: death without loved ones near, unemployment, hunger, shuttered public schools, uncertainty, isolation, fear, and closed temples, mosques, synagogues, and churches.

What counsel have religious leaders been offering to their people in the face of the pandemic? We thought “Religion in the American Experience” could both capture history in real-time, AND  be of service to the country, by convening a panel of American religious leaders to share what they have told their congregations and believers, with a broader national audience. 

Today’s panel consists of ten religious leaders, some with national scope others with regional or local scope, and we thank them for their willingness to be with us. I will introduce each as we move through the hour-long panel.

The start-up National Museum of American Religion will be both the place of convening in Washington, DC, for discussions about current national issues where religion or the idea of religious freedom is in play, as we are doing today, AND the nationally recognized center for presenting, interpreting, and educating the public about what religion has done to America, and what America has done to religion, including the history of the revolutionary and indispensable idea of religious freedom as a governing principle in the United States.

Join us in building The National Museum of American Religion in the nation's capital, to open in 2026, on the 240th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's immortal words "Almighty God hath created the mind free", capturing the American essence of religious freedom, by donating at storyofamericanreligion.org/contribute.

For a contribution of $200 or more you will receive a free copy of the book When Sorrow Comes: The Power of Sermons from Pearl Harbor to Black Lives Matter, by Melissa Matthes, professor of government at The United States Coast Guard Academy. Her forthcoming book reminds us that in the face of national crisis, faith leaders have incredible power to help Americans endure, even flourish, and further the work of improving the imperfect yet noble American experiment in self-government.