A Nation Wrestles With God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands w/ Ilan Stavans

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On this edition of Parallax Views, acclaimed writer, cultural critic, translator, and literary anthologist Ilan Stavans joins us to discuss his new anthology, A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands. Stavans, the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and a prolific author whose work explores language, identity, religion, and culture, offers a sweeping look at how Americans have grappled with the idea of God from the colonial era to the present day.

Rather than presenting a history of belief or unbelief, Wrestling with God traces the ongoing conversation (and often fierce argument) over faith, doubt, morality, and meaning that has shaped American life. We discuss the anthology's remarkable range of contributors, which includes figures such as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Christopher Hitchens, Will Arbery, Molly McCully Brown, and many others.

Among the topics explored are why even outspoken skeptics and atheists like H.L. Mencken continued to wrestle with God through language, symbolism, and imagery; how religious belief and doubt have served as engines of American political, philosophical, and cultural life; and why Stavans believes America's defining religious tradition is less about consensus than about continual debate.

We also examine the democratization of America's conversation about God. As Stavans explains, the nation's religious imagination is no longer shaped solely by theologians, clergy, philosophers, or academic elites, but increasingly by novelists, filmmakers, comedians, musicians, and pop culture figures. The discussion explores how "high" and "low" culture alike have become arenas where Americans negotiate questions of faith, morality, transcendence, and identity.

Additionally, Stavans reflects on the editorial process behind assembling such an expansive anthology, the significance of concluding the volume with younger voices like playwright Will Arbery and poet Molly McCully Brown, the enduring influence of the Bible on American literature and public discourse, and why the American experiment has always involved a uniquely pluralistic struggle over the meaning of God.

Whether you're interested in religion, American history, philosophy, literature, politics, or contemporary culture, this conversation offers a fascinating exploration of one of the most enduring questions at the heart of the American experience.