For those who know that in America, religion matters, and for those who wish it didn’t matter so much, comes God in America, a sweeping history of how religious faith has shaped America.

This six part series examines the potent and complex interaction between religion and democracy, the origins of the American concept of religious liberty, and the controversial evolution of that ideal in the nation’s courts and political arena. The series considers the role religious ideas and institutions have played in social reform movements from abolition to civil rights, examining the impact of religious faith on conflicts from the American Revolution to the Cold War, and how guarantees of religious freedom created a competitive American religious marketplace.

“The American story cannot be fully understood without understanding the country’s religious history,” says series executive producer Michael Sullivan. “By examining that history, God in America will offer viewers a fresh, revealing, and challenging portrait of the country.”

Interweaving documentary footage, historical dramatisations, and interviews with religious historians, this documentary series is an in-depth exploration of the historical role of religion in the public life of the United States