Publication Date  Winter 1994   Originally published: Contra
Mundum, 10 (Winter 1994): 26-38.   It is not uncommon for
historians to view America as an experimental laboratory in
political theory and practice in which the American character is
represented as a triumph of common sense over ideology. This may
help explain why history books often neglect to acknowledge the
religious dimension of this experiment. Yet far from being
inconsequential, religion—and particularly the Christian concept
of vocation—is the wellspring of this spirit of practicality
that gave substance to the desire for a greater degree of self-
government and led to the development of greater religious and
political liberty.