There is a reason why American conservatives and Christian conservatives look back to the 1950s as the golden age of America. The 1950s were the closest thing America has ever been to being a Christian nation by the standards most modern religious conservatives offer. In the 1950s the forces of anti-communism and pro-Americanism easily merged with a “God Bless America” message to help establish the religious right in American politics.
“In God We Trust” was inscribed on American currency in the 1950s to contrast the US against the communists.
This episode looks at the rise of Billy Graham and a Christian America that took shape after World War II. This was conveniently correlated to a rising opposition to Soviet Union communism and the atheist principles that supported this ideology. The polarization of the Cold War, McCarthyism, and other concepts all worked to support the idea of a Christian America.
The question, “Is America a Christian nation” had not really been asked before this time. In the 1950s, the question was asked and the answer from Christian conservatives in America was a definitive yes.
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