Ep335: The Religious Mythology of America's Founding /with author Warren Throckmorton

Growing up in the LDS church, we experienced a lot of mythologized history. A lot of this was tied to the founding fathers and the origins of America. We heard stories about Moroni appearing to Christopher Columbus and George Washington. Mythology narratives about Washington’s prayer or the founding fathers appearing to Wilford Woodruff at the temple. All of these ideas were narratives designed to push a very specific idea of American identity and Mormonism’s place inside that identity, many of these ideas are directly tied to ideas of Christian nationalism. Promoted by people like a Benson, Skousen, Tim Ballard, Glenn Beck many others these mythology became part of our religious identity. Over the past two decades, Warren Throckmorton has become one of the leading voices examining the historical claims behind Christian nationalism. Through books such as "Getting Jefferson Right and The Christian Past That Wasn’t," he has carefully documented how influential activists and organizations have reshaped American history to promote the idea that the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation with a unique covenantal relationship with God. In this interview, we’ll explore how these narratives developed, why they remain so influential, how they compare with similar ideas found in Mormonism and other religious traditions, and what the growing influence of Christian nationalism could mean for American democracy, religious liberty, and the relationship between faith and political power.

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