Christian Nationalism

During the Cold War and a highpoint in church attendance in the 1950s, the United States added phrases like 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance and on currency, described at the time as a 'civil religion' that was motivated in part to show distance from communism.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

The Civil War had christian nationalist movements on both sides, exemplified by the Confederacy mentioning God in its constitution, mention of which is absent from the US Constitution.^[1]^{[better source needed]}

References

^ ^a ^b "Freedom! Joy! Forward! The DNC's Fave Buzzwords, Explained". On the Media. WNYC Studios. August 21, 2024. 20:00. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
^ McDaniel, Eric (2022-11-02). "Talk of 'Christian nationalism' is getting a lot louder – but what does the term really mean?". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-09-03. The majority of Americans do not embrace Christian nationalism. Even so, its echoes appear everywhere from American flags in church pulpits, to the Pledge of Allegiance, to 'In God We Trust' on money, license plates and government vehicles.
^ Silk, Mark (2024-07-16). "Hawley's Christian nationalism is the old-time civil religion, weaponized". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2024-09-03. Like the insertion of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, "In God We Trust" was made the national motto during the Cold War to pose America's civil religion against the atheistic communist faith. Hawley's assault on the left's alternative civil religion harks back to that historical moment precisely.
^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2023-03-27). "How Christian Is Christian Nationalism?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-09-03. Judging from church-membership figures, the nineteen-fifties may have been the most pious period in American history; it was the decade when the phrase 'under God' was added to the Pledge of Allegiance (1954), and when 'In God we trust' was adopted as the country's official motto (1956). By then, politicians were talking less about heathenism and more about a new adversary; many, like Senator Joseph McCarthy, believed that America was 'engaged in a final, all-out battle between Communistic atheism and Christianity.'
^ Gjelten, Tom (April 12, 2021). "Can America's 'Civil Religion' Still Unite The Country?". NPR.

[:26-1] "Freedom! Joy! Forward! The DNC's Fave Buzzwords, Explained". On the Media. WNYC Studios. August 21, 2024. 20:00. Retrieved 2024-08-24.

[2] McDaniel, Eric (2022-11-02). "Talk of 'Christian nationalism' is getting a lot louder – but what does the term really mean?". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-09-03. The majority of Americans do not embrace Christian nationalism. Even so, its echoes appear everywhere from American flags in church pulpits, to the Pledge of Allegiance, to 'In God We Trust' on money, license plates and government vehicles.

[3] Silk, Mark (2024-07-16). "Hawley's Christian nationalism is the old-time civil religion, weaponized". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2024-09-03. Like the insertion of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, "In God We Trust" was made the national motto during the Cold War to pose America's civil religion against the atheistic communist faith. Hawley's assault on the left's alternative civil religion harks back to that historical moment precisely.

[4] Sanneh, Kelefa (2023-03-27). "How Christian Is Christian Nationalism?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-09-03. Judging from church-membership figures, the nineteen-fifties may have been the most pious period in American history; it was the decade when the phrase 'under God' was added to the Pledge of Allegiance (1954), and when 'In God we trust' was adopted as the country's official motto (1956). By then, politicians were talking less about heathenism and more about a new adversary; many, like Senator Joseph McCarthy, believed that America was 'engaged in a final, all-out battle between Communistic atheism and Christianity.'

[5] Gjelten, Tom (April 12, 2021). "Can America's 'Civil Religion' Still Unite The Country?". NPR.

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