What religion would the newly opened, recently indigenous, territory of Iowa become? German Lutherans, Austrian and French Catholics, and New England Congregationalists all funded projects that proved no match for the myriad of choices Iowans had. Methodists were everywhere, and Inspirationists, Freethinkers, and Meskwakis added to the chorus suggesting that hegemony was not a possibility, and cooperation a better strategy. Religious Iowans Black Hawk, Amelia Bloomer, Annie Wittenmeyer, James B. Weaver, Billy Sunday, John R. Mott, Luigi Ligutti, Henry A. Wallace, Ann Landers, Harold Hughes, and Robert Ray all make appearances.

How did Sioux City pastor George Haddock get his name on streets in California? How did Rev. George Slater contribute to civil rights? Which state was the go-to for journalists looking for an American religious consensus? How did Dubuque seminary professors feel about nuclear weapons? How did Sr. Pat Farrell parry Vatican accusations of heresy? This book answers those questions and more.

Bill Douglas has been a political organizer, delivery worker, and award-winning freelance historian. His personal religious saga has included membership in Presbyterian, UCC, Methodist, and Disciples congregations in Iowa, as well as regular attendance with Friends and Mennonites. He has written for Minnesota History, Annals of Iowa, Quaker History, and Baptist History and Heritage. After a forty-year stint in Des Moines, he now lives in Clutier, Iowa with his wife