Known for his work debunking bad history, author and professor Warren Throckmorton addresses the seven myths Christian nationalists use to falsely claim that America was founded as a Christian nation, in order to equip readers to counter these claims.
America was not founded as a Christian nation.
Who gains what from myths about the past? Why are many of us susceptible to their power? And how can the truth about a nations past prevail? In this lively book, Warren Throckmorton, coauthor of Getting Jefferson Right, investigates the gloss that Christian nationalist storytellers put on history and equips readers to debunk seven myths that they propagate.
Working in the tradition of muckraking journalists, Throckmorton, whose fact-checking of David Bartons book The Jefferson Lies convinced the publisher to pull it from the shelves, picks a fight with fables told about the past by those who are trying to erase the separation of church and state. Did the Puritans actually establish a covenant with God, and were all the founders evangelical Christians? Are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution based on the Bible, and did delegates at the constitutional convention in Philadelphia actually kneel for daily prayers? With keen attention to primary sources, Throckmorton dismantles the myths, piece by historical piece. And he asks: How are the genocide of Indigenous people and enslavement of millions of Africans not definitive repudiations of some righteous Christian past?
Its never been more important to understand why myths about the past wield so much force--and whom those myths empower. White Christian nationalism thrives on origin stories, and Throckmorton equips readers to debunk the false ones. The real heritage of America is neither as a Christian state nor pure secularism; it is a more nuanced story, he says, one of religious tolerance and pluralism. To understand Christian nationalism, we must know the power of myth. To counter it, we must know the facts.
Warren Throckmorton is an author and speaker specializing in psychology and history. Now retired, he worked as a psychology professor at a Christian college and produced, wrote, and hosted the critically acclaimed podcast series Telling Jefferson Lies. His writing has appeared in Salon, Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Christianity Today, and Religion Dispatches, among others, and he has appeared on CNN, NPR, the Holy Post podcast, and more. Throckmorton is the coauthor with Michael Coulter of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 | Why Do People Believe America Was Founded as a Christian Nation?
Chapter 2 | Hijacking History
Chapter 3 | Myth One: North America Was a Covenant Homeland for European Protestants
Chapter 4 | Myth Two: America Is a Christian Nation Because the Colonies Had State Churches
Chapter 5 | Myth Three: America Is a Christian Nation Because the Founders Were Orthodox Christians
Chapter 6 | Myth Four: The Founders Wanted Government to Reflect Christian Principles
Chapter 7 | Myth Five: The Charter Documents Were Based on the Bible and Christianity
Chapter 8 | Myth Six: Americas Virtues Justify Americas Sins
Chapter 9 | Myth Seven: Christianity Should Be Privileged in Public Education
Conclusion
Appendix
Acknowledgments
Notes
"[A] robust treatise. . . . Throckmorton effectively marshals historical evidence to support his claims." --Publishers Weekly
"Warren Throckmortons book is not for folks who say, My minds made up--dont bother me with any facts. For those who do not think that way, it provides careful documentation to test claims that the United States was founded as a special or uniquely Christian nation. Extensive use of primary sources shows where these claims are false or only partially true. In so doing, the book promotes the best kind of evidence-based discussion of Christian faith, the national founding, and the morally checkered course of American history." --MARK NOLL, author of Americas Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911, professor emeritus of history at University of Notre Dame
"With prodigious research and surgical precision, Warren Throckmorton systematically dismantles the misrepresentations, falsehoods, and outright fabrications perpetrated by Christian nationalists.... This is essential reading for anyone who cares about Americas best idea: the radical and unprecedented notion that the best way to ensure the integrity of both the faith and the political order lies in keeping the two entities separate." --RANDALL BALMER, John Phillips Professor in Religion, Dartmouth College, and author of Americas Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State
"With scholarship and panache, Warren Throckmorton deftly skewers the hoary myths of Christian nationalism. The Christian Past That Wasnt is an important book at a critical moment." --KATHERINE STEWART, author of Money, Lies, and God and The Power Worshippers
"Throckmorton has long been our most diligent, meticulous debunker of the lies Christian nationalists tell about our countrys past--and its present. He brings his well of knowledge to our fraught moment, laying bare the authoritarian aims of historical revisionists. With a flair for detail and storytelling, Throckmorton unmasks the dire threat they pose to a multiracial, pluralistic democracy." --SARAH POSNER, author of Unholy and Gods Profits
"I hope this work can help put to death the lie of the Christian nation and can instead refocus the people of God on being the people of God." --MALCOLM FOLEY, author of The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward
"Here is a much-needed book for readers who value the truth. Throckmorton engagingly corrects many of the most common exaggerated or simply false claims concerning the roles that Christianity played in the founding of the American nation." --GEORGE M. MARSDEN, emeritus professor of history, University of Notre Dame, and author of Religion and American Culture
"In The Christian Past That Wasnt, Throckmorton takes on the whole project of Christian nationalist mythmaking. From exploring why mythic narratives are appealing to showing how damaging they are to democracy, this book couldnt be timelier." --JULIE INGERSOLL, professor of religious studies, University of North Florida, and author of Building Gods Kingdom
"With a clarity of purpose and pen, Throckmorton unveils how the most pernicious lies that perpetuate the myths of Christian nationalism are just that: lies. I know I will refer to this book time and again to quickly and easily remind myself of our collective truth--Americas heritage is one of religious liberty, tolerance, and pluralism." --ANDREW WHITEHEAD, professor and author of American Idolatry
