Recent surveys have indicated that many, if not most, Americans believe the founding fathers wanted this nation to be officially Christian. But a new book by Princeton historian Kevin Kruse slices and dices this notion with razor-sharp facts and anecdotes. In “One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America,” he shows how corporations such as General Motors and Hilton Hotels partnered with clergymen and politicians to conflate patriotism and pietism. Here he tells how our nation’s Ten Commandments monuments were originally movie marketing props and how evangelist Billy Graham participated in America’s shifting mindset.
RNS: You argue that “corporate America invented Christian America”? Explain.
KK: By “Christian America,” I don’t mean the idea that this is a country in which Christians and Christianity have played a fundamentally important role. I’m talking about the belief that the state itself, politically speaking, is officially and formally a “Christian nation.” Most of the markers that Americans invoke when they argue that we are one – the words “under God” in the pledge, the national motto of “In God We Trust,” the National Prayer Breakfast, the National Day of Prayer, etc. – are creations of the modern era and, more specifically, creations of corporate America.
RNS: Creations of corporate America?
KK: Starting in the 1930s, major corporations and business lobbies marketed a new language of “freedom under God” to discredit what they denounced as the “slavery of the welfare state.” As their campaign swept the nation in the 1940s and 1950s, many Americans came to think of their country as officially “one nation under God.”
RNS: You said “America as a Christian nation” is a modern invention, but others counter that it traces back to our founding fathers. What say you?
KK: The founding fathers were religiously diverse, but on this issue they were nearly unanimous in insisting that the United States of America was not a Christian nation. The Declaration invokes the Creator, of course, but the Constitution – the basis of our government – pointedly does not. Other than dating the document “in the year of our Lord,” the only mentions of religion in the Constitution and Bill of Rights are ones that keep the state at arm’s length from the church. Even more directly, the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli – begun by Washington, signed by Adams, and passed unanimously by a Senate half-filled with signers of the Constitution – states quite clearly that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
RNS: You say that some of this notion was a response to Roosevelt’s New Deal. How so?
KK: Roosevelt himself deserves some of the credit, as he regularly invoked religion in his speeches for the New Deal. His first inaugural address was so laden with Scripture that the National Bible Press put out a chart linking his text to the “Corresponding Biblical Quotations.” The business interests he denounced as “the moneychangers” decided to beat him at his own game, using religious rhetoric to repackage their worldly agenda in heavenly terms. As both sides of the debate blended religion and politics, ideas of piety and patriotism became closely intertwined for all.
RNS: How did Billy Graham partner with American corporates to propel this idea forward?
Read the rest here
Religion has shown itself in the political realm for years - I'm not surprised that it is now coming up in terms of business as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. I am curious to read this book. In any case, I have always wondered about the pride that people take in declaring that this is nation was founded on "Christianity". This nation was created by exterminating the indigenous population and built it's economy on enslaved people from the African continent. If I was a Christian, I would be ashamed to call that that Christianity.
ReplyDeleteWow. I found Merritt's article to be tremendously illuminating. More and more, I think that school is just teaching me how little I know. I feel like I'd heard rumblings of a few of these things, and I've been known myself to remind friends on occasion that a country founded on the ideal of religious freedom is a different notion than one founded on Christianity. But it was fascinating to learn some of the specifics about the origin and emergence of phrases and sentiments that, today, just seem like everyday aspects of American culture. I thought Merritt's close was a beautiful suggestion - that if each side examines the other's past more closely, we might find a way to move forward in a more harmonious manner.
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ReplyDeleteI liked reading about the origins of the phrase "In God We Trust," and hearing about how it made its way to our national motto in 1956. I also found the question and answer regarding Billy Graham pretty interesting. I did not realize that Graham worked to implement religious ideals into the corporate world.
ReplyDeleteThis article was a really interesting read for me. I hadn't read a lot about the origins of "Christian America" so it was interesting to read about where phrases such as "One Nation under God" came from, and the work of Billy Graham.
ReplyDeleteThis is a topic that needs to be talked about more. Too many people fall victim to the "Im a Christian vote for me" pitch or vices of rhetoric similar to this. Im tired of it for one. I can admit that at one time in my life this style of rhetoric fooled me. Its dangerous and I don't think its a rhetorical style that would make Jesus very happy. I can just see another temple incident when I think about it.
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