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Twelve score and nine years ago, if you’ll indulge me, the Second Continental Congress, gathered in Philadelphia, did something momentous: they adopted the Declaration of Independence, as (mostly) written by Thomas Jefferson, and thus announced to the world the birth of a new nation, one based explicitly on democratic principles and rooted in radical, atheistic philosophy. That this American achievement was imperfect and marred by the crime of slavery, among others, should not detract from our admiration. The Americans took on a mighty empire and won (with the help of the French, let us not forget), and what was begun in 1776 culminated in the creation of the world’s first and oldest, and possibly even greatest, secular democratic republic.

The history of America is the history of revolution and counter-revolution. It is the story of the unfolding of the promise of the Declaration—an unfolding opposed, and sometimes stemmed and even rolled back, by racists, oligarchs, and theocrats. The land of freedom was also the land of slavery; the epicentre of modern global secularism was also—is also—the epicentre of Christian fundamentalism.

Today, under the second Donald Trump administration, almost everything that actually made America great is being spat upon by people who claim to be American patriots. Christian nationalism is stronger than ever, American imperialism is capital-B back, the rule of law and the system of checks and balances and the democratic process are being subverted. The true America, or at least the best, the noblest America—the America of Thomas Paine—is dying. As I wrote a couple of days ago, with reference to the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925: ‘Scopes was also a battle for the soul of America, another round in a fight that had gone on since 1776: between the radical, democratic, Enlightenment philosophy of Paine, Jefferson, and the rest, and the reactionary, demotic, fanatical spirit of religious enthusiasm.’

And so it continues. 249 years on from that world-historical turning point in Philadelphia, will the America of Paine survive until the Semiquincentennial next year?

As an admirer of America from afar, I hope so, I truly do. (And I hope that I am being more pessimistic than realistic in my assessment that this America is dying. That this America was perhaps never truly born, or, rather, was born disfigured, is another discussion entirely.) The freethought movements in Britain and America have always been close friends, and it is to American freethinkers and secularists that we must look now. (One might begin by checking out The Truth Seeker, edited by Roderick Bradford.)

Meanwhile, the Fourth of July is a good moment to look back on some Freethinker articles and interviews which touch on the subject of America’s soul, to greater or lesser extents; many of these will explain the characterisation I gave above, particularly the mention of America’s roots in ‘radical, atheistic philosophy’. And Patrick Seamus McGhee’s article will explain why hope for the future of America must be rooted in its freethinking past.

In no particular order, then (and note that this is not an exhaustive list):

Happy Independence Day, America.

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Daniel James Sharp is Editor of the Freethinker and an independent writer who has published in Areo Magazine, Quillette, the Washington Examiner, Free Inquiry, and many other outlets. He also writes on Substack and is currently working on a book about Christopher Hitchens for Pitchstone Publishing.

1 comment

  1. A constitution based on freedom of thought, speech, and religion could hardly be ,quote, “rooted in radical, atheistic philosophy”

    The following run-down is a fair indication of why there’s no record of Thomas Jefferson embracing or promoting any such thing:
    https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/jeffersons-religious-beliefs/

    I also note that, although the write-up ostensibly opposes Trump there’s no reference to his prime clanger, namely his association with Paula White and his creation of a respective tax-funded Department.
    Actually I’ve yet to see any intelligent input re said issue anywhere; quite extraordinary really

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