As a City on a Hill: The Story of America’s Most Famous Lay Sermon

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By Daniel T. Rodgers

Published June 13, 2018

John Winthrop did not intend or foresee his “City on a Hill” discourse to be an oft-referenced part of the American national consciousness. As a City on a Hill (Princeton University Press) reveals how the sermon ascended into the national canon and uses the speech’s current status as an example of a nationalistic desire to latch onto “timeless texts.”

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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