Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian Nation
Season Two is here! The first episode was posted on April 14.
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: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian Nation
What is Christian Nationalism? An Interview with Paul Matzko, Part One
Paul Matzko is a historian and senior program manager for AI and emerging technology at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. He is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and host of the Unintended Consequences podcast.
Today, he joins me to discuss how Christian nationalism differs from citizen engagement with politics. Often Christian nationalists complain that they are simply living out their faith in the public square. However, Paul teases out the differences between policies which benefit the common good and those which are designed to benefit mainly or only Christians affiliated with the regime in power.
This is part one of a two-part interview. Next week, I will have the conclusion where Paul talks about the bitter consequences of Christian nationalism and addresses the question: Has Christian nationalism ever worked?
Topics today:
- What is Christian nationalism?
- Christian nationalism and the ideology of South African apartheid
- Christian nationalism and Geralf L. K. Smith
- Billy Sunday and the Klan
- MAGA as the modern America First movement
- Christian nationalism is a different faith than orthodox Christianity
- Christian nationalism and public schools
- and much more...
Music today is provided by Earl's Taco Shack, Jonus Fair, and Dustin Blatnik.
Hosted and produced by Warren Throckmorton
Artwork by Sarah Eshelman