02/09/2015
Princeton historian Kruse (White Flight) wonders “why so many contemporary Americans came to believe that has always been and always should be a Christian nation” and finds answers among a group of 1930s anti–New Deal industrialists intent on promoting “Christian libertarianism”—a philosophy that preached the salvation of the individual through free enterprise. These businessmen, alongside clergy such as Billy Graham, saw an Eisenhower presidency as an opportunity to “inspire the American people to a more spiritual way of life.” Yet the Eisenhower Administration produced little more than ceremonial deism. Kruse argues that superficial displays—such as adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance—may have created the religious tradition we see today, but more significant attempts to bridge the gap between church and state were blocked by the Supreme Court. The movement may even have died were it not for Nixon, who cynically evoked nostalgia for 1950s-era stability to win the presidency and helped transform the Silent Majority into the Moral Majority. Kruse sidesteps the question of whether America actually had a religious founding, describing instead how 20th-century politicians exploited this idea, but by doing so, he misses a critical opportunity to separate history from myth and chicanery. B&w photos. Agent: Geri Thoma, Writers House. (Apr.)
Conventional wisdom holds that America has been a Christian nation since the Founding Fathers. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the idea of “Christian America” is nothing more than a myth-and a relatively recent one at that.
The assumption that America was, is, and always will be a Christian nation dates back no further than the 1930s, when a coalition of businessmen and religious leaders united in opposition to FDR's New Deal. With the full support of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, these activists-the forerunners of the Religious Right-propelled religion into the public sphere. Church membership skyrocketed; Congress added the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trust” the country's official motto. For the first time, America became a thoroughly religious nation.
Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how the comingling of money, religion, and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics today.
Conventional wisdom holds that America has been a Christian nation since the Founding Fathers. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the idea of “Christian America” is nothing more than a myth-and a relatively recent one at that.
The assumption that America was, is, and always will be a Christian nation dates back no further than the 1930s, when a coalition of businessmen and religious leaders united in opposition to FDR's New Deal. With the full support of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, these activists-the forerunners of the Religious Right-propelled religion into the public sphere. Church membership skyrocketed; Congress added the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trust” the country's official motto. For the first time, America became a thoroughly religious nation.
Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how the comingling of money, religion, and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics today.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940172581311 |
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Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
Publication date: | 04/14/2015 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |