Wednesday, July 29, 2026

It is the 29th of July 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

In this, the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, if I were to assign you readings (as I was once want to do), I would have you read excerpts from today’s birthday boy- he was Alexis DeTocqueville- born on this, the 29th of July in 1805. His work Democracy in America has been hailed as both the best book about Democracy and the best book about America. Beyond the hyperbole, there is much to be commended in this work of a French Aristocrat who came to observe the new nation- about 50 years into the experiment.

 

For our sake, I’d like to introduce you to a few of the things he wrote about Christianity in America- perhaps they might enlighten.

 

Alexis De Tocqueville was born on this day in 1805 to aristocratic and Catholic parents. He was tutored by a Catholic priest and had a “deeply religious childhood”. At 15, he moved to join his father at a political post in Metz and read Enlightenment thinkers, which caused a crisis of faith. He would remain a Catholic publicly, but did not receive the Lord’s Supper again until his deathbed.

 

The genesis of his book came from his trip to the United States with the task of observing the curious American prison system. These were not “prisons” but “penitentiaries”- from the word “penitence”- places of “repentance”. This curious blending of religious and civic life led Alexis to expand his trip and expand his scope.

 

What baffled him, coming out of the irreligious French Revolution and the tumultuous Bonaparte regime, was that in America the most enlightened and the most free were also, seemingly, the most religious.

 

He wrote: “Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention…In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united.”

 

He ties this to the Puritan past- as “ardent sectarians,” they were also “exalted innovators”. They had the burden of proof on them that they were neither anarchic nor despotic. Their past in England caused them to argue for their theological and political beliefs in the public square- against opposition- something DeTocqueville believed strengthened their common identity.

 

He noted that the democratic and egalitarian Americans needed Christianity- that the love of freedom could easily devolve into a love of material goods- to declare itself autonomous. Christianity could counteract this- but needed to be careful not to position itself as the opponent of freedom and egalitarianism. DeTocqueville notes that it is a precarious relationship- but fundamental.

 

He notes a few other things- one, he warns that the most likely religious idea to seduce later generations would be pantheism, where all religions are seen as equally true and equally useful. He calls this laziness- and despite not being a devoted Christian himself, he urges Americans to be vigilant against pantheism.

 

He also warns the American people that democratic public opinion could become dogma and a replacement religion. In a sense, he’s arguing that a strict separation of church and state would eventually swallow the church whole.

 

He warned that another danger would be an “impulse towards fundamentalism”- he argues that an “‘exalted and fierce spiritualism’ gives rise to ‘bizarre sects’ and ‘religious follies’ that escape ‘beyond the bounds of common sense '.” In essence, a “do it yourself” country (especially out west) would give way to a “do it yourself” Christianity which could create as many sects as there were personalities.

 

He believed that American Christianity was best when it played the role of critic- not so much so that it is rejected by the populace, but enough that it can be a bulwark against the twin threats of materialism and despotism.

So… how did we do? DeTocqueville would likely have words for us almost 200 years after his visit in 1830. He would go back to his native France and suffered a collapse and illness around the revolutions of 1848- he was imprisoned briefly after Louis Napoleon’s coup and died in Cannes in 1859.

 

Born on this, the 29th of July in 1805, Alexis DeTocqueville was 53 years old.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and the Gospel of Mark:

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 29th of July 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who says, well actually, the mustard seed is… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows about the mustard seed but was recently perplexed by the origins of black pepper… had to look that one up… Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.