Did George Washington Kneel in Prayer at Valley Forge?
Did George Washington kneel in prayer at Valley Forge? American Christians love a painting that depicts that and claim it demonstrates that the United States was founded as a Christian nation — but Washington may never have done it. This NPR article discusses the painting and the history:
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5747094/church-and-state-george-washington
And in Episode 303: The Founders, Part 1, we discuss Washington's views of religion as part of our "A Christian Nation?" series, which examines the proposition that America was founded as a Christian country.
Host
Blake Henke is a history major from the University of Virginia in 1990 with a minor in Environmental Science. His history thesis centered on his relatives who fought in the Civil War: six for the South and two for the North. He went on to get a Master’s of Science degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University in 1996.
He has pursued a career in Environmental Science since 1991, starting his own company in 1998 called North Star Science and Technology, LLC. North Star specializes in bio-telemetry technology for tracking wildlife, mainly birds and terrestrial mammals of all kinds, but also including freshwater and marine turtles. In addition to running North Star, Blake currently consults with Virginia Waters and Wetlands, and he performs field work for Cell Tower Osprey Management.
Blake's passions are history and religious studies, and his hobbies include hiking, backpacking, whitewater rafting, boating, fishing, and historical and philosophical discussion. He has two exceptional sons, Wyatt and Brooks.
Reflections on a year of making the Podcast
