Religion and the American Founding Conference

​In partnership with Brigham Young University's history and political science departments and Wheatley Institute as well as America 250 Utah, we will be holding the Religion and the American Founding Conference on March 11-12, 2026. It will take place on the BYU campus and is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Registration for in-person attendance required. For those unable to attend, all sessions will be livestreamed. See https://americanreligion250.org/conference-program/.

The conference will begin by exploring the religious landscape on the eve of the Revolution, including that of the Indigenous Peoples and those who are enslaved. Denominational archivists will discuss their participation in the revolutionary and founding eras through artifacts linking them to that time. The final panel will explore religion, memory, and the meaning of America at 250 years old.

A special keynote address will be given the evening of March 11th by Dr. Thomas Kidd, author of Benjamin Franklin: The Spiritual Life of a Founding Father and Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh.