Religious Intolerance, America, and the World: A History of Forgetting and Remembering

In 2016, three out of four Republicans and supporters of Donald Trump said that “discrimination against Christians was as serious as discrimination against any other group.” A year later, another poll taken among white evangelicals revealed that they believed that they suffered more discrimination than American Muslims (193). In that context, John Corrigan examines the long history of religious intolerance in America and how that history has shaped not only aspects of American identity but also elements of American foreign policy. One familiar with American religious history might expect in a book with this title a litany of events where certain groups suffered persecution for their religious beliefs, but Corrigan does much more than that. He provides a complex analysis that draws upon myriad sources in an effort to unpack the social and psychological elements of religious intolerance. He is fascinated by the interplay between willfully forgetting previous episodes of intolerance while at other moments remembering them—hence the book’s title. This book is certain to draw the attention of numerous scholars in the field of American religious history for its innovative use of social psychology and its application to both domestic intolerance and the desire to make religious freedom abroad a core element of American foreign policy. Corrigan begins by reminding his readers that for much of American history, the prevailing narrative has emphasized belief that this is a land of religious liberty and tolerance. James Madison proudly declared in 1785 that religious freedom adds “lustre to our country” (1). Corrigan counters with “the history of religious tolerance has proven less fascinating to Americans” (1). With that he launches into a narrative that does much more than catalogue various expressions and episodes of religious tolerance. He makes a case for a complex