The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American

by Andrew L. Seidel

PRAISE FOR THE FOUNDING MYTH

This book should be required reading for every member of Congress.

— Hemant Mehta, editor of Friendly Atheist, and author of I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist’s Eyes

The Founding Myth is a potent exposé of how those who most want to impose biblical values on Americans are often the ones who least understand or follow the Bible.

Dr. Hector Avalos, biblical scholar and Professor of Religious Studies, Iowa State University

Text © 2019 Andrew L. Seidel

ISBN 978-1-4549-3328-1

Foreword

This political environment, in which the separation of church and state is treated as a kind of heresy rather than the real rock upon which our government stands, is what makes the timing of Seidel’s book so fortuitous.

The entire book is on solid legal ground because of Seidel’s experience as an attorney fighting attempts to introduce religion into public institutions—from the promotion of Bible-reading in public schools to attempts by many right-wing religious groups to obtain public funds for faith-based institutions.

— SUSAN JACOBY August 1, 2018

Preface

When it was taking shape, I suggested it could be called America is not a Christian nation: And it’s a good thing it isn’t! Because that is exactly what Andrew has proved in The Founding Myth.

— DAN BARKER

Introduction: Prelude to an Argument

“When I think of all the harm the Bible has done, I despair of ever writing anything equal to it.” — Oscar Wilde3

Taylor commissioned a Ten Commandments plaque, elegantly lettered and struck in bronze; it read as shown in this replica:

Look closely at the wording on that plaque. Taylor lists nine commandments, not ten, omitting the adultery stricture. He also mislabeled his ninth commandment as the eleventh—XI. Hypocritically, Taylor pocketed donations meant to finance the commandments display and had stolen money from his clients.

What Are Judeo-Christian Principles?

One reason the “nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles” claim has not been fully examined is that the vagueness of the term insulates that claim from scrutiny.

After “the Nazi death camps, a phrase like ‘our Christian civilization’ seemed ominously exclusive,” explained Prof. Mark Silk.11

Eisenhower was probably the first president to use the term, explaining to a Soviet general in 1952 that the American “form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is. With us of course it is the Judeo-Christian concept.”12

For instance, when running for president, Woodrow Wilson said, “America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the tenets of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.”13

Judeo-Christian principles can be derived from Mosaic Law, such as the Ten Commandments, and the rest of the bible.

Robert Davi, the actor, Bond villain, and frequent contributor to the conservative website Breitbart.com, gave this game away. Writing about the imaginary “War on Christmas,” Davi argued that removing a nativity scene from government property is part of “a systematic attack on Judeo-Christian values that our country was founded on.”15

The nativity is Christian, not Judeo-Christian.

Christian nationalists are historical revisionists bent on “restoring” America to the Judeo-Christian principles on which they wish it were founded. They believe that secular America is a myth, and under the guise of restoration they seek to press religion into every crevice of the government.

Is Christian Nationalism Really a Problem? Is It Influential?

It is because of Christian nationalism that “President Donald Trump” is a phrase that reflects reality and not reality television. Before Trump, Christian nationalism tended toward the corrupt and inept. It was an odd, impotent curiosity. But the 2016 election changed that. Trump won because of Christian nationalism. The movement is still based on lies and myths, but a Christian nationalist was elected president of the United States, and he was elected because of, not in spite of, his Christian nationalism.

Project Blitz encapsulates the problem Christian nationalism poses. First, it seeks to alter our history, values, and national identity. Then it codifies Christian privilege in the law, favoring Christians above others. Finally, it legally disfavors the nonreligious, non-Christians, and minorities such as the LGBTQ community, by, for instance, permitting discrimination against them in places of public accommodation or in employment.

The goal is to redefine America according to the Christian nationalist identity and then reshape the law accordingly.

If these myths can be exposed and eviscerated, the aim of this book, so can Christian nationalism’s legal and legislative agenda.

Who Are the Christian Nationalists?

Christian nationalism is not solely about religion. It’s an unholy alliance, an incestuous marriage of conservative politics and conservative Christianity.

Two-time presidential hopeful and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee expressed the belief that “all Americans should be forced—forced at gunpoint no less—to listen to every David Barton message.”

PATRIOTISM HAS NO RELIGION.

What I’m Arguing and Who I Am

A widely believed historical lie can have as much impact as a historical truth.

Courts may uphold practices that would otherwise be illegal by relying on comfortable myths instead of legitimate history.

Legislators might promulgate laws based on historical clichés instead of reality.

Christian nationalism operates like a ratchet or a noose, with each violation tightening its hold and making it more difficult to undo. Worse, the violations are used to justify other violations, so the tightening proceeds apace.

The first is that America was founded as a Christian nation. The claim is demonstrably false as revealed by any number of documents from the time, including America’s godless Constitution, Madison’s Memorial, or the Treaty of Tripoli, which was negotiated under President George Washington and signed by President John Adams with the unanimous consent of the US Senate in 1797, and which says that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

They abandon their earlier obscurantism, the first myth, in favor of a new one: the subtler argument that our nation is founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Christian nationalism hinges on this second myth and, unlike the first, it is broadly accepted.

And although other authors have refuted the first fiction, the second remains untouched. This book seeks to change that by comparing the principles of Judeo-Christianity and the principles upon which the United States of America was founded.

America was not founded on Judeo-Christian principles. In fact, Judeo-Christian principles, especially those central to the Christian nationalist identity, are thoroughly opposed to the principles on which the United States was built. The two systems differ and conflict to such a degree that, to put it bluntly, Christianity is un-American.

This book is an assault on the Christian nationalist identity. Not only are Christian nationalists wrong, but their beliefs and identity run counter to the ideals on which this nation was founded.

What I’m Not Arguing

This book does not argue that religion is absent from our culture.

However, this book will argue that religion is absent from our constitutional identity and that much of the Christian religion conflicts with that identity.

This book will also not revisit that well-trod territory of Judeo-Christianity’s role in important campaigns like the abolitionist and civil rights movements. Many books have been written about religion’s role in those movements while seeming to ignore religion’s contribution to the need for those movements in the first place. It’s a bit like praising a child for cleaning up his messy room.