Thread by @brockbahler

The more & more research I do related to #ChristianNationalism (CN) & the Founding Fathers (FFs), the more I'm convinced that "was America founded as a Christian nation or not" is simply a wrongheaded way to approach the issue. It's simply not an either/or binary. It's "both."

Rather, we need to be asking something like: "Where do we see a simultaneous proclamation of religious freedom/pluralism/separation of church & state by the FFs *while* maintaining white Christian Supremacy for the purposes of American Imperialism?"

Its a clear case of cognitive dissonance that's analogous to the fact that the FFs simultaneously advocated human rights "that all men are created equal" AND had little to no problem with enslaving millions of Black people and committing genocide against Native Americans.

The FFs--& dozens of court cases after them (esp. related to Native American land rights & immigration law)--simultaneously advocated for religious freedom AND used the language of CN, of the US as the 'Promised Land,' of the Doctrine of Discovery, to justify American Imperialism

Take Thomas Jefferson, one of the most liberal FFs & best labeled a Deist - didn't believe Jesus was God, didn't believe Bible was divinely inspired, promoted Unitarianism, etc. He authored the VA religious freedom bill that was passed that was the basis for the 1st Amendment

Later in his life TJ said the VA RF bill was meant to prevent CN or giving primacy to any one religious sect, and rather, include/protect "the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslim], the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination" - in short, everyone.

At the SAME TIME, TJ said in his 2nd inauguration: “Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel from of old, from their native land, & planted them in a country flowing w/ all the necessaries & comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his providence”

Is TJ catering to his audience? Maybe. But like CNs then (Puritans & Columbus) & now (eg, Mastriano blowing a shofar), TJ is saying white Euro Christians are the true Israelites who are entering a Promised Land. TJ is reading America back into the OT [& yes this is anti-Semitic]

100s of examples abound like this. Both proclamations of religious freedom and Christian supremacy are ubiquitous in our nation's history. One isn't true & the other false Indeed, *both* are essential myths to American Exceptionalism.

The question[s] then is what do we do about this complex history? Where do we go from here? What kind of people do we want to become?