11 Values That Aren’t Rooted in Christianity Despite What People Say
The assumption that the moral and civic architecture of the United States rests solely on a “Judeo-Christian” foundation is one of the most pervasive myths in modern discourse. You hear it everywhere, from political stump speeches to Sunday sermons, implying that without the Bible, we’d be morally adrift. But when I started digging into the history, I realized this narrative is more marketing than reality; in fact, recent Pew Research data shows that 73% of Americans believe it is not necessary to believe in God to be a moral person.
It turns out, many of the values we cherish most didn’t come from the pulpit; they came from pagans, evolutionary survival strategies, and even economic pragmatism. Ready to have your mind blown? I’ve compiled a list of eleven values that get slapped with a “Christian” label but actually have origins far removed from the church. FYI: history is way more diverse (and interesting) than we give it credit for.
Democracy (Athens)
Democracy is the crown jewel of American civic identity, yet its roots are firmly planted in the pagan soil of Ancient Greece, not the fertile ground of biblical scripture. If you look for a blueprint of voting rights in the Bible, you’re going to come up empty; instead, you’ll find a consistent endorsement of monarchy and theocracy (Rom 13:1). The concept of demokratia, rule by the people, was forged in Athens around 508 BC, centuries before Jesus, under the reforms of Cleisthenes.
Historically, the Church often supported the “Divine Right of Kings,” explicitly opposing the “bottom-up” power structure of democracy. Founding Father Thomas Paine, who knew his history, argued that hereditary rule was as absurd as a “hereditary mathematician”. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention God once; it derives its power instead from “We the People”, a direct nod to the Athenian demos, not the Israelite theocracy.
The Golden Rule (Evolution and the East)
While many of us learned “do unto others” in Sunday School, this principle is actually a universal survival strategy hard-coded into our DNA. Biologists call it reciprocal altruism: the evolutionary idea that helping others increases your own chances of survival. Long before the Sermon on the Mount, this concept appeared in the Mahabharata of India (c. 400 BC) and the Analects of Confucius (c. 500 BC), who formulated the “Silver Rule”: “What I do not wish men to do to me I also wish not to do to them”.
Ever wondered why even non-religious people are generally friendly? It’s because we evolved to be social animals. Expert primatologist Frans de Waal argues that morality is not a “veneer” imposed by religion but grows out of our biological nature. Basically, we were helping each other out long before we had a book telling us to do it.
Human Rights (Persia and the Stoics)
The modern concept of human rights, that all people possess inherent dignity regardless of race or religion, traces its lineage to the imperial decrees of Ancient Persia and Stoic philosophy. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and issued the Cyrus Cylinder, a decree that freed slaves, established racial equality, and allowed freedom of religion. The United Nations has recognized this ancient clay cylinder as the world’s first charter of human rights, predating the Magna Carta by over a millennium.
Furthermore, the intellectual framework for universal equality comes from the Stoics, not the Bible (which distinguishes between “chosen people” and gentiles). Stoic philosophers like Cicero argued for a universal “Natural Law” that governs all humans equally, viewing every person as a citizen of the world (kosmopolites). Thomas Jefferson was channeling this pagan cosmopolitanism when he wrote about unalienable rights, moving away from sectarian religious divides.
Logic and Reason (Aristotle)
We often take for granted the ability to construct a valid argument, but we owe that to the pagan philosopher Aristotle, not a prophet. The “Age of Faith” often viewed independent reason with suspicion, preferring revelation and obedience. It was Aristotle (384–322 BC) who codified the laws of logic, specifically the Law of Non-Contradiction, which states that something cannot be both true and false at the same time.
Without Aristotle’s Organon, we wouldn’t have the scientific method or the basis for modern legal arguments. While medieval theologians like Aquinas later adopted Aristotelian logic, the tool itself is entirely secular, developed to analyze the natural world independent of divine revelation.
Free Speech (Athenian Parrhesia)
Freedom of speech is often defended with religious fervor, but its origins are distinctly secular, tracing back to the Greek concept of parrhesia. In Ancient Athens, parrhesia meant “fearless speech”, the obligation of a citizen to speak the truth for the common good, even at personal risk. Contrast this with biblical laws that often prescribed severe punishment for blasphemy or dissent.
The Founding Fathers knew that a government enforcing religious orthodoxy would inevitably crush this freedom. That’s why the Treaty of Tripoli (1797), ratified unanimously by the Senate, explicitly stated that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion“. They built a secular wall to protect free speech from religious tyranny.
The Immortal Soul (Plato and Egypt)
Ask anyone what happens after death, and they’ll describe a soul separating from the body, a dualistic view that comes straight from Plato, not the early Hebrew scriptures. Early Jewish texts described Sheol as a shadowy, sleep-like existence for everyone, regardless of virtue. It was Plato (c. 428–348 BC), particularly in his dialogue Phaedo, who argued that the soul is a simple, indestructible entity trapped in the “prison” of the body.
Going back even further, the Ancient Egyptians had a sophisticated theology of the soul (Ba and Ka) and a belief in judgment of the dead, millennia before Christianity. If the Egyptians hadn’t developed the concept of moral judgment in the afterlife (weighing the heart against a feather), our modern ideas of heaven and hell might look very different. IMO, Plato deserves a royalty check for every sermon preached on the afterlife.
Monogamous Marriage (Roman Law)
“Traditional marriage” is often touted as the bedrock of Christian society, but if you actually read the Old Testament, you’ll see patriarchs like Solomon with hundreds of wives. The strict legal model of one man and one woman is actually a legacy of Roman paganism. Under Roman law (Conubium), a citizen could have only one legal spouse at a time, a practice that likely arose from the egalitarian politics of the city-states to prevent wealthy men from hoarding wives.
Early Christians eventually adopted this Roman legal framework, but they didn’t invent it. In fact, early Christian emperors had to issue edicts to enforce monogamy on populations accustomed to other arrangements. Monogamy was a civic statute long before it was a sacrament.
The Nuclear Family (Industrial Revolution)
The “nuclear family”, mom, dad, and the kids living alone, is a relatively recent invention driven by economics, not scripture. For most of history (including biblical times), the extended family or clan was the survival unit. Sociologists like Talcott Parsons have shown that the isolated nuclear family emerged as a functional adaptation to the Industrial Revolution.
When work moved from the farm to the factory, families needed to be smaller and more mobile to chase jobs in the city. It was the steam engine and the factory system that created the modern household, separating home from work and shrinking the family unit to fit into urban apartments.
Capitalism (The Dutch Republic)
We often link capitalism to the “Protestant Work Ethic,” but the actual engine of modern capitalism was the secular pragmatism of the Dutch Republic. In the 17th century, the Dutch created the first modern capitalist state by prioritizing trade over religious dogma, earning the nickname “Republic of Persuasion”. They invented the stock market and the multinational corporation because they realized intolerance was bad for business.
Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, later codified these ideas in The Wealth of Nations (1776). His famous “invisible hand” is a secular mechanism based on human self-interest, explicitly decoupling economics from divine providence. The Dutch showed us that profit doesn’t need a prayer; it just needs a free market.
Charity (Greek Euergetism)
We love to think charity is a uniquely Christian virtue, but the ancient Greeks and Romans had a robust system called Euergetism (“doing good deeds”). Wealthy citizens were socially obligated to fund public works, baths, festivals, and food distributions for the city, in order to maintain their honor (timê).
This wasn’t just tossing coins to beggars; it was massive, structural philanthropy that built the infrastructure of the ancient world. Civic patronage ensured that the elite’s surplus wealth was redistributed to the community long before the concept of tithes emerged.
Christmas (Pagan Festivals)
Finally, we have Christmas, the “most wonderful time of the year”, which is basically a pagan party with a new label. Almost every tradition we love, from the date to the tree, is lifted from pre-Christian festivals like Saturnalia and Yule. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia in December with feasting and gift-giving, while Germanic tribes used evergreens to celebrate life during the winter solstice.
And if you want to see the really weird pagan leftovers, look at Krampus (the demon who beats naughty kids) or the Catalan Caga Tió (a log that you beat until it “poops” presents). These earthy, raucous traditions remind us that our “holy night” is built on a foundation of ancient, distinctly human celebrations.
Key Takeaway
The values we often label as “Christian”, from the way we vote to the way we love, are actually a syncretic mosaic of human history. They are indebted to the pagans of Athens, the lawyers of Rome, the merchants of Holland, and the biological imperatives of our species. Recognizing these diverse origins doesn’t diminish them; it reveals them as enduring human achievements that belong to all of us.
So next time someone claims America was built solely on the Bible, you can politely (and factually) disagree.
Disclosure: This article was developed with the assistance of AI and subsequently reviewed, revised, and approved by our editorial team.
20 of the Worst American Tourist Attractions, Ranked in Order
20 of the Worst American Tourist Attractions, Ranked in Order
If you’ve found yourself here, it’s likely because you’re on a noble quest for the worst of the worst—the crème de la crème of the most underwhelming and downright disappointing tourist traps America offers. Maybe you’re looking to avoid common pitfalls, or perhaps just a connoisseur of the hilariously bad.
Whatever the reason, here is a list that’s sure to entertain, if not educate. Hold onto the hats and explore the ranking, in sequential order, of the 20 worst American tourist attractions.
20 Odd American Traditions That Confuse the Rest of the World
20 Odd American Traditions That Confuse the Rest of the World
It’s no surprise that cultures worldwide have their own unique customs and traditions, but some of America’s most beloved habits can seem downright strange to outsiders.
Many American traditions may seem odd or even bizarre to people from other countries. Here are twenty of the strangest American traditions that confuse the rest of the world.
