A question which must be asked is why was this concept of American Civil religion, although so pervasive, was not explored in depth before Robert Belay’s 1960s article Civil religion in America? Simply stated, pre-1970’s America, in particular the sixties, was drastically different than what we see today.
According to Gallop, approximately 70 percent of US citizens during the sixties were self-proclaimed Christians. It was the shared belief by many Christian fundamentalist and political conservatives of that day that …show more content…
This belief does indeed trace its roots to John Calving’s concept of the protestant work ethic. This idea, which upon conception was intended for positive ends, has been often times coopted for nefarious purposes. Some may argue that this belief that the United States is divinely mandated to carry out god’s work has been used as both an impetus and pretext to gain and expand by some American leaders. Some may argue that the Manifest doctrine and its link to the extermination of the Native Americans, the annexation of Guantanamo Bay and the ousting of combative heads of state are physical manifestations of this abstract