First published 2015
Historian Kevin M. Kruse examines the origins of America's identity as a Christian nation. He traces this belief to the 1930s, when business leaders opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies. These businessmen recruited religious activists to promote "freedom under God" as an alternative to what they called the "slavery" of government programs. Their campaign succeeded in electing Dwight Eisenhower as president in 1952. Eisenhower transformed religion's role in American politics by establishing the National Prayer Breakfast and other religious traditions. Congress added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance and adopted "In God We Trust" as the official national motto. Church membership reached a peak of 69 percent as Americans embraced the idea of being "one nation under God." Kruse reveals how this alliance between money, religion, and politics manufactured a false narrative about America's founding that still shapes political debates today.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, christianity, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction
Setting: America, United States
Period: 1930s, 1950s
386 pages · Kindle Edition · Basic Books