The Myth of a Christian Nation | Part 1: Evangelical Revisionist History

This week, Ashley and Bailee kick off Part 1 of a deep-dive into one of the most widely accepted beliefs in evangelical culture: that the United States was founded as a Christian nation.

From childhood teachings to political messaging, many of us were told that America’s identity is inherently tied to Christianity — but as we started asking questions, that narrative began to unravel.

In this episode, we trace the roots of that belief — from the Founding Fathers and the realities of America’s founding, to the Civil War, where both sides claimed God, to the rise of Reagan-era politics and the Moral Majority. Along the way, we explore how Christianity and nationalism became intertwined, and how the idea of a “Christian nation” was built over time.

Correction: 

• Pat Robertson built CBN (not Jerry Fallwell), later creating CBN University (now Regent University) and the Christian Coalition.
• While Robertson and Falwell were both giants of the Religious Right, their primary organizations were separate.

Recommendations: 

• “Jesus and John Wayne” (Kristin Kobes Du M ez) — Analyzes the development of a particularly masculine strain of evangelicalism that influenced Christian nationalist culture (commonly recommended alongside Stewart).
• “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States” (Samuel Perry & Andrew Whitehead) — Sociological research on Christian nationalist beliefs and how they correlate with political identity.
• Episode 29: The Puritans: The Religion That Built & Broke America

References:

• Balmer, R. (2006). Thy kingdom come: How the religious right distorts the faith. Basic Books.
• Balmer, R. (2014). The real origins of the religious right. Politico Magazine.
• Biag, L. (2025). Race, religion, and reproductive rights: Understanding the conservative anti-abortion movement in America. Imagine: A Promise & McNair Scholars Undergraduate Journal. University of California, Santa Barbara. ucsb.edu
• Fea, J. (2016). Was America founded as a Christian nation? Westminster John Knox Press.
• Frazer, G. (2012). The religious beliefs of America’s founders. University Press of Kansas.
• Holmes, D. L. (2006). The faiths of the founding fathers. Oxford University Press.
• Jefferson, T. (1820). The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (The Jefferson Bible).
• Madison, J. (1785). Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments.
• McKeegan M. The politics of abortion: a historical perspective. Women's Health Issues. 1993 Fall;3(3):127-31. doi: 10.1016/s1049-3867(05)80245-2. PMID: 8274866.
• Noll, M. A. (2002). America’s God. Oxford University Press.
• Rakove, J. N. (2010). Revolutionaries: A new history of the invention of America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 
• Wald, K. D., & Calhoun-Brown, A. (2018). Religion and politics in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield.

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