A Wall of Separation · Episode 14 of 14 · 29 min
Is Separation of Church and State a 'Fabrication'? Christian Nationalism Today
The newest move in the church-state argument is to deny the wall ever existed. The finale traces the fabrication claim, TPUSA Faith, the Seven Mountain and biblical worldview currents, and a Court that traded Lemon for history and tradition. It steelmans the accommodationist reply, weighs the series' thesis measuredly, and ends on open questions.
Who's who
- Charlie Kirk+1 more episodeTurning Point USA founder whose views on church-state separation reversed between 2018 and 2022
- Rob McCoyCalifornia pastor and TPUSA Faith co-chair
- Andrew WhiteheadSociologist, co-author of Taking America Back for God
- Samuel PerrySociologist, co-author of Taking America Back for God
- Thomas Jefferson+10 more episodesAuthor of the 1802 wall of separation letter
Timeline
- 1802Jefferson's Danbury letter coins a wall of separation between Church and State
- 1971Lemon v. Kurtzman sets the three-part Establishment Clause test
- 2021TPUSA Faith is founded to mobilize pastors and churches
- 2022Kirk calls church-state separation a fabrication; Carson v. Makin and Kennedy v. Bremerton are decided
- February 2023A PRRI/Brookings survey finds about 10% Christian-nationalist adherents and 19% sympathizers
Still debated
Scholars contest definitions of Christian nationalism, and the accommodationist point that the Founders were not uniform separationists is historically sound. The shift from Lemon to history and tradition and the movement's rhetoric are parallel developments, not proven cause and effect.
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