Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln's Union

by Richard Carwardine

The first major account of the American Civil War to give full weight to the central role played by religion, reframing the conflict through Abraham Lincoln’s contentious appeals to faith-based nationalismHow did slavery figure in God’s plan? Was it the providential role of government to abolish this sin and build a righteous nation? Or did such a mission amount to “religious tyranny” and “pulpit politics,” in an effort to strip the southern states of their God-given rights? In 1861, in an already fracturing nation, the tensions surrounding this moral quandary cracked the United States in half, and even formed rifts within the North itself, where antislavery religious nationalists butted heads with conservative religious nationalists over their visions for America’s future.At the center of this melee stood Abraham Lincoln, who would turn to his own faith for guidance, proclaiming more days of national fasting and thanksgiving than any other president before or since. These pauses for spiritual reflection provided the inspirational rhetoric and ideological fuel that sustained the war.In Righteous Strife, Richard Carwardine gives renewed attention to this crucible of contending religious nationalisms, out of which were forged emancipation, Lincoln’s reelection, and his second inaugural address. No understanding of the American Civil War is complete without accounting for this complex dance between church and state—one that continues to define our nation.

Genres: History, Civil War, Religion, Biography, Politics, Nonfiction, American History

624 pages, Hardcover

Published January 21, 2025

Reviews

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer]

Righteous Strife, how warring Christian nationalist forged Lincoln’s union by Richard Carwardine in this book, the author helps us feel how life was for those in before during and after the days of the Civil War. with modern day accounts from preachers Friedman, men in the military politicians and on and on. From those who fought four and against and everyone in between. if anyone has a true feeling of how life was in the days of Lincoln it would definitely be this author Richard Carwardine. he has written a few books on Lincoln, but I do believe this one is his best. This is a great book for those who like me are obsessed with the Civil War in the days that surrounded. I do think this is the first book that has truly made me see the Zeitgeist and environment of those times and I truly truly enjoyed it. #NetGalley,#KnoffPantheonAndAnchor, #RichardCarwardine,#RighteousStrife,

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is dense read and there were admittedly sections where I began to glaze over at the sheer volume of opinions or viewpoints of seemingly every religious figure of the day, but overall this is a very new “take” on the civil war period. The interplay between church and state is ingrained in our nation and would naturally be at the forefront of a civil conflict but I guess I never really stopped to consider just how integral it was.

[Jacob Hudgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels like it was written before “religious nationalism” became a buzzword. I suppose you could call people who feel that they live in a Christian nation arguing about what their nation should do a kind of “religious nationalism,” but the term doesn’t seem to fit.

What this book does well is highlight the religious and moral landscape of the pre-Civil War and Civil War eras. It is remarkably diverse. More conservative denominations refused to talk politics from the pulpit. Others moved along a spectrum from defending slavery as biblical to arguing for preserving the Union to abolition. All appealed to scripture. They seem to share a common vision of America as a nation intended by God to be righteous, even if they disagreed about how that vision applied to slavery and war.

Cawardine draws attention to the numerous fast days and day of thanksgiving as indicative of public religious sentiment. I did not know any of this history. Thanksgiving and fast days were often protested and resented as an overreach of government into private religious life. Some fast days (especially in the confederacy) were viewed as effective to help the army win battles. Toward the end of the war, it seems that both sides lost their enthusiasm for the practice. I’m curious if this is the reason it faded into obscurity, but Cawardine didn’t follow up.

I wish I had a few more conclusions and takeaways, but this was still an interesting read.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Possibly one of the last remaining legacies of the Christian nature of the founding of the United States is the nigh-impossibility of an openly atheistic candidate mounting a successful campaign for national office. This holds even while the constituency recognizes the candidate’s manifold references to his Christianity as cynical ambition.

Reading Richard Carwardine’s Righteous Strife is a useful reminder that religion wasn’t always the passing mention that it is now. The end of the volume falls somewhat flat with its irrelevant digs at modern-day white Christians — irrelevant, as non-white voters shocked polite literary types like Carwardine with their support for Donald Trump’s Republican Party in the 2024 election — but the dynamics between the many denominations and subdenominations of Christian churches in the mid-nineteenth century were deftly treated. Highly recommended for students of American history in general and the Civil War in particular.

[Stephanie Gates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book.

Righteous Strife is an engaging look at a period of history that I thought I was familiar with. Looking at the American Civil War through a religious lens was an entirely new perspective that I hadn't explored before, and it was interesting to hear how religion played such a large role in shaping how Lincoln view the War, the Union, and slavery.

[Shanereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mammoth book to read, but for anyone interested in how religion played a role in Lincoln's union. This is a great pick!

This finished copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Huge thanks to Knopf for my review copy!

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mid-19th century religious divide between Northerners who saw slavery as a sin and Southerners who defended it as a Biblical, positive good is well-known. But that’s just the starting point for this upcoming book about religious sentiment during the Civil War era. Carwardine goes on to examine the religious divide between Union supporters who were either against or ambivalent about slavery and how “emancipators slowly gained the advantage.” And he considers the interplay among all of these citizens and Abraham Lincoln, as he engaged in the push-and-pull of influencing, and being influenced by, public opinion.

Carwardine doesn’t spend too much time on the first point, since the North-South divide is pretty self-evident. The second point, once the religious divide among Union supporters was established, became a bit of a slog every time it was referenced, and I found myself starting to skim the long stretches with almost endless quotes from preachers’ sermons, religious newspaper editorials and religious leaders of all denominations who corresponded with Lincoln.

The strongest part of the book, to me, involved Lincoln, his reaction to these religious sentiments, and his own religious beliefs and statements. Joshua Zeitz explored this topic in last year’s Lincoln's God: How Faith Transformed a President and a Nation, with a well-written and easy-to-follow exploration of Lincoln’s personal beliefs, the increasingly influential role of Christian evangelicalism at that time, and Lincoln’s own role as something of an evangelical leader (who was not necessarily an evangelical himself.)

Carwardine explores similar topics, noting that one political admirer referred to Lincoln as a “half-way clergyman.” Lincoln, he writes, was not “the born-again Christian that many believed he was or wished him to be,” but he “recognized his role and duties as an agent of Providence.” It’s popularly believed that Lincoln “found religion” during the war, but Carwardine points out that Lincoln’s religious references began early, and didn’t just come out of nowhere in his Second Inaugural. He cites many religious references in Lincoln’s public comments beginning with his journey to Washington to be sworn in for the first time, as the duties and responsibilities he faced began to sink in. “The unprecedented national emergency would test his judgment, fortitude, and skill,” he writes. “There need have been no shame in seeking and finding strength from a superintending higher power.”

As to whether Lincoln’s religious references were performative or sincere, they might have been both, but Carwardine ultimately comes down on the side of the latter. “Being seen as an honest man of God gave Lincoln a bank of moral capital on which he could draw,” he acknowledges. So one could say it “looks like political calculation” and that Lincoln’s “providentialism might have been for show.” But his “personal journey in religious faith” was genuine, if incomplete, he concludes. Lincoln was far from a full-fledged evangelical himself, but he did display “a growing belief in a God who intervened in the life of the nation.”

Lincoln’s correspondence and his many White House meetings with religious leaders were more persuasive than performative, Carwardine argues, providing him with “a means of reading opinion and identifying significant shifts in public attitudes.” The devout encouraged his “religious patriotism,” influencing his decision to declare so many days of national fasting and thanksgiving for spiritual reflection and inspiration.

The book’s epilogue swiftly and somewhat awkwardly tries to bring the story to the present day, racing through the history of evangelicalism from then to now, chiding today’s evangelical Christian nationalists as compared to the more racially egalitarian, socially progressive evangelicals who embraced emancipation during Lincoln’s time. It’s a comparison worth making, but one that perhaps deserves more expansive thought than can be contained in an epilogue to a book that’s focused on another time altogether.

In short, then, I found this book to be valuable for its insights about Lincoln, and somewhat less so for its recitation of what seemingly every preacher of every denomination thought about events of the time. So it’s not a leisurely read, but one that has enough perceptive observations within to make it a worthwhile effort.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Knopf for providing a (very) advance copy of this book for review, ahead of its January 21st release.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

** I have this as an ARC and when I started it, I quickly learned that there was no table of contents, something very much needed when reading a 934 page ARC. Thankfully, my local library had access to a physical copy of this book and I was able to use that for reference and for page numbers. Therefore, I am using the hardcover as the book I read, but am still counting this as RWYO since I also still have the ARC. **

IF you want to know HOW we got to where we are today, with christian nationalism, religious fervor, racism within religion, the ability to try and toss the Constitution when it suited the needs of the the zealots*, and how quickly insanity can surround a President [with sycophants and religious {whether true or false} zealots], THIS IS THE BOOK TO BE READING. It completely spells it out, and there were many moments where I had to remind myself that I was reading about Lincoln's time [and history in general] and not about recent events. The only difference is that President Lincoln didn't bow to all the sycophants, he stood firm, and that made a lot of difference [until he was assassinated].

Fantastically written [without being sensationalist, even while the events SCREAM sensationalism], expertly researched, this book pretty much blew me away from page one; I've read a lot of books about Lincoln and the Civil War, and I never felt like the author was covering information that has been covered over and over - this felt very fresh [and also V E R Y timely] to me, and I learned a lot [I know that I knew about McClellan running for President against Lincoln {and what a NIGHTMARE that would have been}, but this really delved into that and I learned more than I expected there] and because I know that I missed things [that happens with this huge books], I will, at some point, be doing a re-read. I highly recommend this one - it really lays out how we got to where we are today and you too will just be amazed at all you learn.

* They were willing to toss the Constitution over separation of church and state because according to the zealots "the founding father's didn't REALLY mean that this was not a christian nation" [except they did. *EYEROLL*]

***A NOTE: If you like audiobooks, this audiobook is amazing and I highly recommend it. Fred Sanders is one of my absolute favorites and he does a stellar job with this one. It was one reason I didn't mind using an Audible credit for this - I knew even if the book wasn't great [thankfully, it was LOL], Mr. Sanders would do all he could to make it as good as he could. I would listen to him narrate the phone book and I am so glad for his excellent narration here.

I was invited to read/review this by the publisher [Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor/Knopf] and I'd like to thank them, Richard Carwardine, Fred Sanders - Narrator, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[W. Derek Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book as an audiobook from my local library.

This book gives a very thorough narrative of the struggle between different religious traditions, especially Christian, over the issue of slavery, and how these different religious traditions responded to and shaped the American Civil War. This is a very instructive listen, although I do have a few criticisms.

First, I want to say that although it seems that the author is progressive in his political sentiments, he did present a very objective account of the religious strife that surrounded the issue of slavery in 19th Century America, giving adequate attention to both religious viewpoints. That said, I think this book could have been more concise (the audiobook was nearly 18 hours long); having said that, I think part of the length of this book comes from the fact that there exists so much in the way of primary documentation surrounding the American Civil War, both during the antebellum period and during the war itself.

The other major criticism I have is the author's repeated use of the phrase "the N-word" throughout his book. I realize that the word "nigger" is incredibly offensive now as it was then, but I think to replace this word with a euphemism does violence to the primary documents quoted in this book. I think if the author had gone ahead and used the word "nigger" where it appeared in the primary documents, it would have given his book that much more punch, demonstrating just how odious the racial prejudices of many Americans were at that time. I was once an English teacher at a Chinese university, and in my lesson on Mark Twain's book Huckleberry Finn, I explained to my Chinese students that they should never, ever use the word "nigger," but I went on to say that because Mark Twain himself used this very word in his book Huckleberry Finn, that day's literature lesson was the one exception.

For those seeking to better understand the religious sentiments that drove the struggle over slavery, this book will provide invaluable insight.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for an interesting book on how religious denominations/churches and priests/ministers reacted to the issues of slavery, the civil war and secession. The author has done a prodigious amount of research, reading sermons, minutes of various religious conventions, newspaper editorials and speeches by various individuals during the pre civil war period and through the civil war itself. He quotes from all of the above. You can guess from the title that he is mostly focused on sermons/speeches from the northern states, but he does quote some southern ministers. The southern ministers gave sermons claiming that the bible justified slavery. They said that the slavery was ordained by god, and that it was moral, right and good.
The author also quotes from meetings with Lincoln and various emissaries from a multitude of religious denominations. Lincoln relied on these meetings to gauge how much support his policies had among the general population. In addition, the author quotes from various opponents of Lincoln's policies, especially the "Copperhead" Democrats.
Some readers may find this book too scholarly for their taste. I recommend it to readers interested in US civil war history. It is a long book--626 pages, and extensively documented, about 100 pages of footnotes. I am not a religious person, but I am interested in how religious denominations affect society and in this case, had a positive effect on the outcome of the US civil war.
One quote on Lincoln: "The profound trauma of war gave him a new perception of God, whom he came to see as an active force in history."
Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#RighteousStrife #NetGalley.

Pub Date Jan 21 2025 |

[David Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book about Lincoln's religion, a topic that has been tackled by many without a great deal of success. Instead, Carwardine tackles the concept of religious nationalism, which he defines in a glossary as "the fusion of religious convictions and nationalist vision, which delivered politically the mutual reinforcement of religious and national identities." Of course, the North and the South had different views of how God was all-in for their cause, be it pro-slavery or anti-slavery/abolition, not to mention Unionist vs Secessionist. You can throw in that of the Copperheads, northerners who aligned with the Southern belief in white supremacism and slavery as a natural state. In other words, people morphed religion to support their political needs. That said, religious nationalism in Carwardine's view was a driving force behind the movements that both supported and opposed Lincoln's attempts to save the union. The issues are complex and conflicting, which makes this a deep dive of an important topic. Carwardine is erudite and thorough, which sometimes makes the book a bit dense even for me as a Lincoln scholar. But this book is the definitive treatment of the religious nationalism that permeated the era and found divine inspiration for both (all) sides of the war.

David J. Kent
Author, "Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours"
Past President, Lincoln Group of DC

[Daniel Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

For the most part I found this book to be insightful and it raised many interesting historical points about the link between Christian nationalism and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln. There were times where the chronological narrative was lost in minute detail (especially pertaining to denominational history). All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about American religious history during the Civil War era.

I did take issue with statements made in the introduction and epilogue pertaining to today’s political climate. Once again another historian puts forward the “party switch” hypothesis. A tired, weak argument created to paint the modern day conservative movement as the continuation of racist policy that was put forth (mostly) by the Democratic Party. The author says the “serpentine” nature of the “white nationalism” has swung back to modern-day Republicans and evangelicals. What support does he use to buttress his point? None. He speaks in conclusions as most academics do on this subject. Show the reader how precisely this is the case. If that is not in the scope of the work, then why even bring it up? There is a discussion to be had, but it does nothing for an argument to speak in conclusions without any supporting evidence.

[Steven Conger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Richard Carwardine's book Righteous Strife fascinating. As a retired minister, his deep dive (at times maybe a little too deep) connected with me. I had worked on a paper about the religious effect on both the Union and Southern armies while I was in seminary, and this book brought much of that research back to mind. The biggest challenge is that it is a DEEP dive, and may get a little bit into the weeds for many folk.

Trying to understand Lincoln's relationship to God and the "church" is a challenging task. Carwardine suggests two possibilities, one is that it was more for show and political gain and the other was that it was subtle but authentic. I am still ambivalent about it. Carwardine suggests it was more authentic and gave him political capitol. Maybe, but I was not convinced.

The most challenging part of the book is the end when he tries to bring us to the present. Carwardine does not seem to like the direction that parts of the evangelical church in the USA are leaning (Christian Nationalism) and seems to suggest they have forgotten their roots in emancipation.

This is not an easy read or for the faint of heart, but I appreciate the opportunity that Netgalley and Knopt publishers gave me in exchange for this review.

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well-written and well-researched book about Lincoln. I feel we see a softer side of him at times, a side that struggled to do the right thing, but always worrying about the consequences or the timing. We see pressure applied to him from both sides politically and religiously. The side who wants to abolish slavers and demands he do so immediately. The side who wants to uphold slavery and uses the Bible to argue its right to do so. This was probably the hardest time to be president as his goal was not to destroy the United States, but reunite its people. But the challenge was how to do so AND abolish slavery, a moral wrong. His faith was important to him and he leaned on it greatly as he made decisions. I can’t imagine being pummeled from both sides, angrily making demands, knowing that whatever decision you make, someone is not going to be happy. But also knowing that this war cannot go on forever, that lives are being lost by the thousands as each day passes. Many people lean heavily on their faith for various issues and needs, but never has one man’s faith been so vital to the life of a nation. I received an advance copy of this book and my opinions are my own.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have read many volumes about the Civil War, you may think that this is just another one. But it adds more information, especially about the home front and the very consequential arguments within the church of that time. Remember, this time was pre-Darwinian, so the churches' language was pretty foreign to us now, except, that it's basic character seeps through.

Very readable. Fills out much of what we need to know.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed study of the religious forcesshaping the Civil War. The book is both an excellent summary of work done over the past two decades and a groundbreaking study with implications for today,a marker for the religious nationalism that is currently tearing apart houses of worship and the nation in our time!

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

While StoryGraph and GoodReads have this book as having 600 some odd pages, the epilogue ends at Page 412. The rest is a glossary, acknowledgements, sources, and index. I did learn some new things, but it was a dense read.

[Itzy Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very dense, yet incredibly well researched read.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book that explains the role of evangelicals in impacting Lincoln's policy during the civil war and how its perspective is reflected in Lincoln's 2nd inaugaral address

[Lyle Krewson]

Fascinating look at the role of religious denominations influence of President Lincoln during the Civil War on the subject of abolition of slavery.

[Clifford Luebben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Carwardine does excellent job presenting the various religious (primarily but not exclusively Christian) viewpoints in the Union as they reflected, impacted, and shifted during the Civil War. To provide context he also gives an excellent summary on the history of America’s various Christian movements from the Revolution to the Civil War which has easily made me the most informed I’ve ever been on the topic and was incredibly insightful by itself. I think Carwardine does an excellent job just letting the historical voices speak for themselves so readers can draw their own insights from them. He of course presents his own insights at the end which I think I have some quibbles with. Also the way he applied the term “conservative” exclusively to anti-abolitionist (though not always pro-slavery) voices struck me as anachronistic (my understanding is most everyone tried to claim the label “conservative” in that era) and an anachronism from someone that doesn’t even understand complexities of American conservatism at present. But that is my only real quibble with the work and it doesn’t detract from it.

The book has an exhaustive and academic bent, but it was easier to read than most books of that nature I encounter. It did take me a while to get through the book (it is also over 400 pages), but I thoroughly enjoy it. I definitely recommend it for those interested in Civil War history, Religious (especially American) history, and those interested in the intersection of politics & religion more broadly.