It doesn’t seem like this was always the case - obviously there’s a lot of myth making about the “founding fathers”, but it does seem that a lot of them were genuine Enlightenment men.

I’m not under any illusions that the USA was ever a secular nation, but it seems like the phenomenon we see now, of right wingers marrying America = Christianity, Christianity = America, in their worldview, wasn’t always there.

Is it just the result of Cold War propaganda, juxtaposing the American empire of Christendom with the evil atheist soviets?

    • glimmer_twin [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      If this view of things is correct, and it’s a fine argument, it is typical of the world we live in that a bunch of religious zealots who fled Europe to form their perfect, puritanical society, ended up being the first step on the road that led to megachurches and the prosperity gospel. History loves irony.

      • gammison [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I think the megachurch prosperity gospel is more disconnected from the original 2 great awakenings than the above comment writes. Like I think there's less continuity.