Dear Friend,
405 years ago yesterday, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower set sail from Southampton, England, for the pristine shores of America. They prayed a lot, and, later, invited their friend Squanto to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast of mashed potatoes and pecan pie. More time passed; the United States was founded as a Christian nation; and everyone lived happily ever after. The end.
Incredible! As in not credible. But this is just the fairytale we tell kids who still believe in Santa, right? Not for long. If Christian Nationalists have their way, it could soon be the official narrative.
Earlier this week, White House officials announced they will oversee “a comprehensive internal review” of Smithsonian museums and exhibitions to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” (The Smithsonian already altered one exhibit to downplay the presidents’ role in the events of January 6, 2021.)
The letter instructs the national museums to implement “content corrections” of any materials deemed problematic by the administration’s auditors, including Russell Vought of Project 2025. Their review encompasses both public-facing content — viewed by tens of millions of visitors each year — and internal curatorial processes that have traditionally been conducted by nonpartisan scholars, archivists, and museum professionals.
We must be clear-eyed. This is an Orwellian seizure of public institutions and an attempted mutiny of the historical record. From 1984: “If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened — that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death.”
Officials will begin “Phase I” of their operation with eight prominent museums, including the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Their stated goal is to promote “Americanism,” a term we at American Atheists know all too well.
Because it is, among other things, the equation of patriotism with a belief in God. In a 1963 debate regarding the abolition of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), historian Howard Zinn explained, “…if you didn’t believe in God, this was an example of un-American thinking.”
Americanism demands an unquestioning loyalty to a religious and far-right ideology. The idea that religiosity is a prerequisite for good citizenship fueled HCUA’s interrogations about “subversive” activities and beliefs. It demanded loyalty oaths and inserted “under God” into the Pledge.
This narrow definition asserts as fact that Americans are Christians, which is itself untrue. But even more dangerously, it implies nonbelievers and adherents of “other” belief systems are less American, if not altogether un-American.
Much like the HCUA justified its actions as necessary to defeat “godless communism,” Vought has described the current moment as a “cold civil war,” in which Christian Nationalists must use “biblical principles” to “instruct government” against a “Marxist takeover” of a “Judeo-Christian” country that has become, he says, “too secular.” The mission of his organization, The Center for Renewing America, is “to renew a consensus that America is a nation under God.”
In an op-ed titled “Is there anything actually wrong with Christian Nationalism,” Vought suggested the U.S. adopt a biblical immigration policy in which “outsiders could join Israel so long as they, ‘accept[ed] Israel’s God, laws and understanding of history.’” So, yes, it is of great concern that he is among those determining what constitutes an “improper ideology.”
Americanism strips history of inconvenient truths and silences those who don’t neatly fit Christian Nationalists’ paradigm. Under this framework, any dilution of the national myth with complexities or tragedies is to promote an “anti-American” ideology. Pluralism? Yuck! Diversity? Too messy. Our past is as pure and pious as the Puritans.
What, then, will become of the African American and American Indian museums? At the American History museum, it’s a safe bet a previous exhibit showcasing the religious diversity of early America would not pass Vought’s inspection. Perhaps after the Smithsonian’s PragerU-nification, Columbus will inform visitors slavery was no big deal. And what of natural history? How does one patriotize the Bone Hall? Maybe they’ll invite Ken Ham of the Ark Encounter to consult.
“The past was whatever the Party chose to make it,” wrote Orwell. “By far the more important reason for the readjustment of the past is the need to safeguard the infallibility of the Party… For to change one’s mind, or even one’s policy, is a confession of weakness.” Yale’s Jason Stanley seconds this in Erasing History: “The authoritarian right must erase this history, and, along with it, the very practice of critical inquiry that has so often been the engine of future progress.”
Still, there is hope. Orwell again: “One can imagine little knots of resistance springing up here and there — small groups of people banding themselves together, and gradually growing, and even leaving a few records behind, so that the next generations can carry on where we leave off.” I see those knots of resistance in our volunteers, in our Secular Advocacy Teams testifying in statehouses, and in members like you who support our work.
Even and especially now, I must insist facts are still facts and the past is not whatever the Party chooses to make it. But without continued vigilance and action, we must recognize our future and freedoms are threatened by ideologues and revisionists. We’ve seen it happen in other countries.
It’s what American Atheists is resisting and why we need your support right now. Your gift today of $25 or more helps fuel our resistance — supporting legal challenges and empowering evidence-based advocacy that defends America’s secular history and democracy against the theocrats seeking to remake our laws and institutions in their image.
With you (and the facts) on our side, we will continue defending truth, inquiry, and freethought against ideological erasure and control, and together, build a future where history is remembered honestly, science thrives with integrity, and every American is free to disbelieve.
In solidarity,
Melina Cohen
Director of Strategic Communications & Policy Engagement
American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507 and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.
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