A review by burdasnest
The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American by Susan Jacoby, Andrew L. Seidel, Dan Barker
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
DNF, but I invested my time in about 2/3 of this book. I have a lot of complicated feelings about The Founding Myth. First, I agree with Seidel's perspective and (lack of) religious beliefs, and am also the type to be open to to the arguments he makes and the evidence he provides. With that in mind though, who is this book for? Because the people who would read this book and be receptive likely already have come to the same conclusions as Seidel and will find the content repetitive. On the other hand, people who are not already on the same page as Seidel will not be persuaded by The Founding Myth because they will find their beliefs attacked alongside the logical arguments that show the founders' clearly intended separation of church and state. Evangelical atheism doesn't lend itself to convincing religious folks to secular arguments.
I've been on a quest this year to read up on Christian Nationalism and womanhood in the US, and have come across so many good books, like Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Cultish by Amanda Montell, and Disobedient Women by Sarah Stankorb, and I can't say I would recommend this one to anyone not looking to make a legal argument about the separation between church and state. If Seidel wanted to reach a wider audience, he should have taken a note from Beth Allison Barr in The Making of Biblical Womanhood and established common ground and empathy with believers instead of demonizing organized religion and putting them off to his entire argument for secular government.
I've been on a quest this year to read up on Christian Nationalism and womanhood in the US, and have come across so many good books, like Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Cultish by Amanda Montell, and Disobedient Women by Sarah Stankorb, and I can't say I would recommend this one to anyone not looking to make a legal argument about the separation between church and state. If Seidel wanted to reach a wider audience, he should have taken a note from Beth Allison Barr in The Making of Biblical Womanhood and established common ground and empathy with believers instead of demonizing organized religion and putting them off to his entire argument for secular government.