One Nation Below God: How Company America Invented Christian America

Typical knowledge holds that America has been a Christian nation for the reason that Founding Fathers. However in One Nation Below God, historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the concept of “Christian America” is nothing greater than a fable – and a comparatively current one at that.

The belief that America was, is, and at all times shall be a Christian nation dates again no additional than the Thirties, when a coalition of businessmen and spiritual leaders united in opposition to FDR’s New Deal. With the complete assist of Dwight Eisenhower within the Fifties, these activists – the forerunners of the Non secular Proper – propelled faith into the general public sphere. Church membership skyrocketed; Congress added the phrase “below God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Belief” the nation’s official motto. For the primary time, America grew to become a totally spiritual nation.

Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Below God reveals how the comingling of cash, faith, and politics created a false origin story that continues to outline and divide American politics as we speak.