The Philosopher's Corner: One Nation Under God

Now that Preacher Huck has decided to treat us to another presidential bid, I'm recalling a few previous Bible-thumpers with political ambitions.

William Jennings Bryan was a 3-time loser as the Democratic presidential nominee before settling for Secretary of State.  Billy Graham never ran for office but was influential as the self-described "Pastor to Presidents."  Billy was an unofficial Cabinet member for Ike, LBJ, Nixon and Ronnie.  Televangelist Pat Robertson failed miserably in his run for the Republican nomination.  Kinda like Mike Huckabee, who wants a Mulligan in 2016.

So I think it's appropriate to share another missive from The Old Philosopher.  This one takes the form of a book review.
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We're often told that the United States is, was, and always has been a Christian nation.  But in One Nation Under God:  How Corporate America Invented Christian America, historian Kevin M. Kruse explains that the idea of "Christian America" is an invention -- and a relatively recent one at that.

As Kruse argues, the belief that America is fundamentally and formally a Christian nation originated in the 1930's when businessmen enlisted religious activists in their fight against FDR's New Deal.  Corporations from General Motors to Hilton Hotels bankrolled conservative clergymen, encouraging them to attack the New Deal programs as "pagan state-ism" that perverted the central principle of Christianity:  the sanctity and salvation of the individual.  Their campaign for "freedom under God" culminated in the election of their close ally Dwight Eisenhower in 1952.

But this apparent triumph had an ironic twist.  In Eisenhower's hands, a religious movement born in opposition to the government was transformed into one that fused faith and the federal government as never before.  During the 1950's, Eisenhower revolutionized the role of religion in American political culture, inventing new "traditions" from inaugural prayers to the National Prayer Breakfast.  Meanwhile, Congress added the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance and made "In God We Trust" the country's first official motto.  With private groups joining in, church membership soared to an all-time high of 69%.  For the first time, Americans began thinking of their country as an officially Christian nation.

During this moment, virtually all Americans -- across the religious and political spectrum -- believed that their country was in fact "one nation under God."  But as the country moved from broad generalities to the details of issues like school prayer, cracks began to appear.  Religious leaders rejected this "lowest common denominator" public religion, leaving conservative political activists to champion it alone.  Once in Richard Nixon's hands, politics that conflated piety and patriotism became the sole property of the right.

Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how the unholy alliance of money, religion and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics to this day.

  
 "The Old Philosopher"
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Buster's note:  Religious affiliation has been falling steadily for decades.  These days, the percentage of us who claim to attend church services regularly is just 37% and declining.  The percentage who say we never go to church is 29% and rising.

So good luck to Preacher Huck!