As a student of history, political activist and an award-winning freelance historian, Bill R. Douglas brings his diverse, rich background to bear on a question that tugged at his soul: Why hasn’t anyone written a comprehensive history of Iowa’s religions? He decided to answer it himself with The People Are Kind: A Religious History of Iowa (Resource Publications), which Douglas infuses with a rare energy and appeal for his subject.
The audience for this book isn’t solely those who want to know more about Iowa’s religious history, but anyone with a curiosity about the forces that shaped the state’s 180-plus year history.
Douglas’ personal religious journey includes membership in Presbyterian, UCC, Methodist and Disciples congregations in Iowa. He regularly attended Friends and Mennonites. His fascination with the interwoven nature of Iowa’s religious tapestry compelled him to create this richly researched tome.
He starts with the spiritual beliefs of the land’s original Indigenous inhabitants before white Europeans settled what would become Iowa. Henry A. Wallace, Iowa native and vice president to Franklin D. Roosevelt, is quoted here: “There is a great need of some of the fundamental spirituality of the old Indian religions being introduced into our modern American attitude.” Douglas also examines the at times tenuous relationship between anthropologists and groups like the Meskwaki, relaying a quote from Fred McTaggart: “Meskwaki’s have been known to pull the legs of anthropologists about their beliefs, jokes that got into academic circulation without having been got.”
Through meticulously footnoted research, Douglas introduces cultural adventurers to past leaders in religious thinking like Wallace, showing that the state had several prominent voices tying issues of the day into theological movements. His coverage of the early 20th century Christian socialist movement and their debates about the basic question “who is my neighbor?” are fascinating.
Douglas’ historical recounting sheds light on the evolution of Iowa’s religions, which parallels economic and cultural change. As Iowa’s religious identity shifted from small footprint congregations and church groups to contemporary, ever-expanding megachurches, so, too, did Iowa’s agricultural and educational networks change. Agriculture expanded to large farm operations, squeezing out the small family-run operations. Schools merged similarly, as efficiencies in melding adjoining communities became a necessity.
“Nostalgia was a powerful argument for holding on to the old ways,” Douglas writes, “but it did not pay the pastor’s salary or keep the lights on.”
For anyone desiring to fully understand the state of Iowa, reading Douglas’ The People Are Kind is an essential part of that quest. The curious mind will be rewarded by taking the journey he offers.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s November 2025 issue.
