This dissertation describes the creation of a myth of America's religious heritage. This myth revolved around an assertion of foundational religious principles that established and supported American freedom. These values and the freedom they engendered were ambiguous, but necessitated a love of both God and nation, a commitment to free market economics, and a large, global military force. Finally, the myth's contributors constantly warned of both external enemies who sought to destroy America's guiding principles and the erosion of those principles by Americans who either forgot or denied the country's religious heritage. Americans have advocated for aspects of this myth through much of the nation's history, most notably the idea that God imbued America with a special status and destiny in world affairs. However, American leaders only developed this myth into a paradigmatic impetus for governmental action during the Second World War and early Cold War. Various political, religious, military, and business leaders developed and employed this myth for both similar and cross purposes. Although their efforts were not a direct collusion, their tendency to build on each other's rhetoric and resources often made them beholden to each other's interests. Most notably, their consistent elevation of religion in a narrative of American dominance played a principal role in the emergence of the United States as the world's foremost military power. The contributors to the myth of America's religious heritage cast freedom as a divine gift that the nation had to both ardently defend and compassionately export abroad. They then almost unanimously identified the military as the nation's stalwart defenders and the epitome of all that made America righteous and good, thus making the military an essential aspect of America's material and spiritual security. This development disabused many Americans of their traditional distrust of large standing armies and made a massive military presence an essential part of the nation's structure. American leaders' mutual use of the myth provided a common vocabulary, grammar, and collection of themes that they could use to locate and place themselves in comparison with others. These contributors, eager to command followers and craft a national identity consistent with their interests, also fashioned characterizations of American religion that shifted away from traditional institutions toward a more general sphere of public and private influence. Eschewing former theological, doctrinal, and liturgical distinctions, religious groups subsequently positioned themselves based on their stances toward militarism, free market capitalism, and "social" issues, a category created during the myth's construction. Such positioning contributed to the increased polarization of American religious communities in the following decades. This polarization and the establishment of America's enormous military apparatus are the enduring legacies of mid-twentieth century America's faith in freedom. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 21, 2013. / American History, Politics, Race, Religion, U.S. Presidents,
War / Includes bibliographical references. / Amanda Porterfield, Professor Directing Dissertation; Neil Jumonville, University Representative; John Corrigan, Committee Member; Kurt Piehler, Committee Member; John Kelsay, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253354 |
| Contributors | Polk, Andrew (authoraut), Porterfield, Amanda (professor directing dissertation), Jumonville, Neil (university representative), Corrigan, John (committee member), Piehler, Kurt (committee member), Kelsay, John (committee member), Department of Religion (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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