The Christian Past That Wasn't - by Warren Throckmorton (Hardcover)

About the Book

Bad history is useful to those who circulate it. In The Christian Past That Wasn't, Warren Throckmorton challenges seven myths that prop up the illusion that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. It's never been more important to understand why myths about the past wield so much psychological force, and who those myths empower.

Book Synopsis

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 nation's 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 Barton's 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?

It's never been more important to understand why myths about the past wield so much force--and who 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.

Review Quotes

"Warren Throckmorton's book is not for folks who say, 'My mind's made up--don't 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 America's 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 America's 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 America's 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 Wasn't 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 country's past--and its present. He brings his well of knowledge to our fraught moment, laying bare the authoritarian aims of these historical revisionists who deceive their followers into believing that secular government is a threat to Christianity. With a flair for detail and storytelling, Throckmorton unmasks the dire threat they pose to a multiracial, pluralistic democracy." --SARAH POSNER, author of Unholy: How White Christian Nationalists Powered the Trump Presidency, and the Devastating Legacy They Left Behind

"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, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, emeritus, University of Notre Dame, and author of Religion and American Culture

"In The Christian Past That Wasn't, 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 couldn't be timelier." --JULIE INGERSOLL, professor of religious studies, University of North Florida, and author of Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction

"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--America's heritage is one of religious liberty, tolerance, and pluralism." --ANDREW WHITEHEAD, professor and author of the award-winning American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church