In fact, according to Seidel:
research shows that atheists know the Bible better than Christians (115)
In 1951, 53% of Americans could not name even one of the gospels. In 2010, 49% couldn't.
Claim
My article is a review of a very powerful book written by Andrew Seidel called The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American. As Seidel says, the purpose of the book is to utterly destroy the myth that the founders of the Constitution were committed to founding a Judeo-Christian nation. The contrast between the Bible on the one hand and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on the other is so great that, as Seidel says, one is almost forced to choose: are you a Christian or an American?
Part of the book is dedicated to exposing the notion that the founders themselves had any sympathy for Christianity. Secondly, it is to show how both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution directly contradict both the Old and the New Testaments. Thirdly, within the Bible the Ten Commandments are shown to be anti-Constitutional. Lastly, the book shows how it was only through a propaganda campaign during times of national fear such as the Civil War and the anti-communist scare that right-wing preachers smuggled in Christian propaganda onto coins and paper money (In God We trust); and into the Pledge of Allegiance (One nation Under God).
Qualifications
This book does not argue that religion should be absent from our culture. It only says that religion should be absent from our constitutional identity. In fact, research shows that in societies that have a separation of church and state, people are more religious than when there is no separation. Seidel argues that when there is no separation, people take religion for granted.
Secondly, there is no simple relationship between separation of church and state and whether someone is religious or not. Someone can be religious and endorse the separation of church and state. Thirdly, while some founders were deists and others were theists, even though some were theists does not prove they used their religion to found the nation. People can make a distinction between their private and public political commitments. Fourthly, founders who were Christian were only supportive of the teachings of Jesus. There was no implication of support for any Catholic or Protestant institutions or teaching.
Qualifications about my being an American and supporting the Constitution.
It would be natural to think that in attacking Christian nationalism as being un-American, I identify with being an American. I don't. My purpose in using the term "un-American" is to offer an immanent criticism of Christian nationalism. Immanent criticism means criticism from within the principles of my adversary. What I am saying is you don't even live up to your own principles of being an American by failing to abide by the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. An externalist criticism would be to criticize Christian nationalism from a Buddhist, Muslim or socialist perspective.
Also, in defending the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence against the Bible, it doesn't mean I am uncritical of the of either of these American documents. As a result of reading Seidel's book, I do have a newfound respect for the importance of separating Church from the State. There are clear limits set on religion's invasion of science or politics. While secular laws could be much tighter, the justification for insisting on the separation is very well thought-out and it is still very important over 200 years later.
Were the Founders Christian?
Seidel uses many sources to show that the painting of Washington praying in the snow was a piece of artistic Christian propaganda. Washington was not a good Christian. He attended religious services irregularly, he didn't kneel during prayer and often skipped out of Church early. He refused to have a priest at his deathbed. Jefferson took a more militant stand against Christianity. He attempted to rewrite the Bible cutting out the references to supernaturalism, miracles and slaughter in the hopes of salvaging something. Jefferson said later that his efforts were like "pick out diamonds from a dunghill." Jefferson and Madison were very critical and suspicious of organized religion and the "priestcraft" that accompany them. Some founders treated the Trinity with contempt, calling it Abracadabra.
When the founders mention "The Creator" the Christian nationalists break out in celebration, declaring victory. Hold your horses and bugles! Nowhere is Jesus or Yahweh specifically mentioned. Virtually all cultures have a creator god who are more or less involved in his creation. The same is true with the Golden Rule. Christian nationalists act is if this rule was unique to Christianity. Most cultures in the world have their own version of the Golden Rule often dating to thousands of years before Christianity. Furthermore, when god was named it was "nature's" god. Seidel rightly points this is more likely to resemble the god of the wind or the trees than the description of a biblical god. Nature's god is a pagan god, not the Judeo-Christian monotheistic god.
The founders engaged in what Seidel calls "strategic piety":
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
3
3
