Who says America doesn't have its own mythology?

Writing at Christ and Pop Culture, Drew Dixon draws attention once again to the debate about whether America is or was ever a “Christian nation,” highlighting a video interview with two historians of evangelical Christianity who make a compelling (and fact-based) argument that our history simply doesn’t justify a clear cut yes-or-no answer. The overall warning they outline is that distorting history to score contemporary political points dishonors our past, dishonors our faith, and dishonors the humanity we Christians share with our secular fellow citizens. I highly recommend watching the entire video. The historians touch on topics such as the religious components of our founding documents, the beliefs of the founding fathers, whether America has a special relationship with God (which Dixon ties to American exceptionalism), the origins of the myth of a Christian nation, and whether secular academia should make room for Christianity in higher education. What is of particular interest to me is how historical facts are selected and shaped into narratives that are used essentially as myths from which we are to draw universal, contemporary truths — and never mind how accurate or truthful those narratives actually are. ☕

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