Telling Jefferson Lies
Watch for information about Season Two coming in 2025!
Season one of the series was active from January-April, 2024. Bonus episodes were periodically posted throughout the remainder of 2024. Please subscribe so you will be notified about Season Two in 2025.
Telling Jefferson Lies chronicles how history can be hijacked for ideological and political purposes, as well as a much broader story about the surge of Christian nationalism and the misuse of history which often goes along with it. The series begins with an in-depth consideration of the methods of Christian nationalist story teller David Barton. Then I tell the story of how his book on Jefferson was pulled from publication in 2012 and the response of evangelicals to that rare event. From there, I broaden the scope to examine the varieties of Christian nationalism and the negative consequences of this way of thinking about church and state. The last segment examines the reasons why the separation of church and state is good history, good civics, and good religion.
For more information, go to http://www.gettingjeffersonright.com.
Telling Jefferson Lies
America is Not a Christian Nation - Bonus Episode with Randall Balmer
In this short bonus episode, Dartmouth College professor Randall Balmer provides an introduction to reasons why he doesn't see the U.S. as a Christian nation.
Dr. Balmer is the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College. He has spoken at numerous colleges and universities, including where I met him, Grove City College.
Balmer has published more than a dozen books, including Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter, God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, and Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right. His second book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, now in its fifth edition, was made into an award-winning, three-part documentary for PBS.
Two more regular segments are planned with the series concluding by the end of April. I hope to post some additional bonus episodes after the final regular segment.
Closing song today is Ain't No Grave by LoFi Hymnal.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4Gi1aZgcQdXvBZECPyKXhG?si=b93eb41870914f66
Background music by Jonathan Swaim and Warren Throckmorton
Telling Jefferson Lies is hosted, written, and produced by Warren Throckmorton. For more information about the podcast or the book Getting Jefferson Right, go to gettingjeffersonright.com.