The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American

Written by Andrew L. Seidel and Susan Jacoby

Narrated by Christopher Grove

Do "In God We Trust," the Declaration of Independence, and other historical "evidence" prove that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Are the Ten Commandments the basis for American law? A constitutional attorney dives into the debate about religion's role in America's founding.



In today's contentious political climate, understanding religion's role in American government is more important than ever. Christian nationalists assert that our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and advocate an agenda based on this popular historical claim. But is this belief true? The Founding Myth answers the question once and for all. Andrew L. Seidel, a constitutional attorney at the Freedom from Religion Foundation, builds his case point by point, comparing the Ten Commandments to the Constitution and contrasting biblical doctrine with America's founding philosophy, showing that the Bible contradicts the Declaration of Independence's central tenets. Thoroughly researched, this persuasively argued and fascinating book proves that America was not built on the Bible and that Christian nationalism is, in fact, un-American.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781630154752

Reviews for The Founding Myth

[Randy Lifshotz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Articulate, comprehensive expression of the impact of this virus being experienced by our country.

[Brian Cook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolute truth regarding the dangers of christian nationalism. Must listen for all who think freedom from religion is a fundamental right.

[NatashaLaitySnyder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Andrew makes a compelling case that the wall between religion and government must be strengthened and upheld as any religious person should agree.

[Amy Slack · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a fascinating, excellent, fact filled book. I listened to it all in one day.

[Charles Gerard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A book with very revealing truths that I had not considered. Things that I had taken for granted as truth I have now discovered that they are incorrect. This book has opened my eyes to the battle between the left and the right and why it's so contentious.

[devil_llama · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A solid scholarly work on the founding of America, detailing all the ways in which the founders declared that we are not, in fact, a Christian nation. The author uses the founder's own words, because they so eloquently declare what the Christian right is constantly trying to deny - the founders deliberately kept church and state separate, and it was not so much to protect the church as to protect the state. They were aware of the dangers of mingling government and religion, and did their best to forestall such an event. This was true even of most of the religious founders, which demonstrates that it is inadequate to point to the piety (real or supposed) of any founder and assume that means that founder, let alone all of them, wanted us to be tied to any church. Should be required reading, but probably the people who need to read it the most will not.

[scottcholstad · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An important, well written book, logical and factually accurate. My only problem is it's so ... "lawyer-speak," I mean uber dry! I would have given another star if Seidel had simply handed it over to a good, veteran co-author who could have injected a little prose, a little life into it. I mean I've published academic papers and white papers, and your average reader would have said about those works what I just wrote about this book. But the difference is those papers were not intended for general readers but for niche target audiences. That's what this book feels like, but I was under the assumption that this book is intended for wide, general audiences, and I just don't think it'll appeal to your average reader, even for some more specific target audience. The only readers I see this book appealing to are Constitutional lawyers and scholars, a few historians, a number of atheists (preaching to the choir) and possibly a few intellectually curious Christians... But great topic, superb research and arguments to support his thesis. I do hope more people than I anticipate will read it.