153. God and the American Empire

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode argues that American religion remained unusually public and politically potent through the 20th century, shaping U.S. exceptionalism, wartime mobilization, Cold War ideology, and post-9/11 politics. Andrew Preston explains how church-state separation, religious competition, and the “Judeo-Christian” tradition helped make religion central to American identity, diplomacy, and the framing of enemies as evil.

Main Topics: American exceptionalism and religious difference (Priority: 5/5): The discussion frames U.S. exceptionalism as both difference from and superiority to other nations, with religion helping define America as uniquely moral and politically distinct from Western Europe. Church-state separation and the religious marketplace (Priority: 5/5): Preston argues that separation of church and state prevented anti-clerical backlash, forced churches to compete, and encouraged innovation, producing a pluralistic but highly religious culture. World War II and the invention of the Judeo-Christian tradition (Priority: 5/5): The episode explains how Franklin Roosevelt and wartime propaganda popularized a new “Judeo-Christian” identity to unify Protestants, Catholics, and Jews against Nazi Germany. Cold War religion and anti-communism (Priority: 5/5): Religion became embedded in Cold War ideology as a defense of freedom, conscience, and democracy against atheistic communism, with Truman and Eisenhower-era politics making faith central to American identity. Reagan, evangelical politics, and the end of the Cold War (Priority: 4/5): Reagan is presented as reviving religious anti-communism while also using religion pragmatically in diplomacy, including religious freedom as a confidence-building measure with the USSR. Post-9/11 crusading language and George W. Bush (Priority: 4/5): Bush’s use of crusading and religious language after 9/11 is treated as revealing deep-seated American habits of moralizing foreign policy, even when framed as pluralist rather than explicitly Christian. Trump, evangelical support, and secular religiosity (Priority: 4/5): Trump is depicted as personally irreligious but politically aligned with evangelical and pro-Israel constituencies, showing that religious politics can persist even without personal piety.

Key Arguments: American exceptionalism is tied to religion: Americans often see their nation as not just different, but better, and religion helps sustain that belief. The U.S. is not truly isolationist; it has always been globally engaged, but often wary of binding political commitments to other states. Separation of church and state protected religion from being discredited alongside politics and encouraged a competitive religious marketplace. The “Judeo-Christian tradition” was a late-1930s invention, popularized to distinguish the U.S. from Nazi Germany and unify domestic religious groups. During the Cold War, religion became a core part of American ideology because communism was cast as atheistic, anti-freedom, and therefore anti-democratic. Reagan’s anti-Soviet rhetoric was not a break but a revival of older religious language, used both for confrontation and for eventual détente. U.S. presidents often invoke religious pluralism as a universal American value, even when that pluralism rests on Protestant assumptions. Trump’s politics show that personal belief is not required for religious mobilization; symbolic alignment with evangelicals and Israel is enough. The persistence of public religion in the U.S. helps explain why American foreign policy so often moralizes conflict in terms of good versus evil.

Data Points: World War II / Cold War transition: Late 1930s–1940s - Period when the “Judeo-Christian tradition” was invented and then normalized in wartime and Cold War rhetoric. Reagan speech venue: National Association of Evangelicals - Reagan chose this forum to call the Soviet Union an “evil empire,” underscoring the political power of evangelical audiences. Siberian Seven asylum episode: 5–6 years - Pentecostal dissidents lived in the basement of the U.S. embassy in Moscow for roughly five or six years. Trump evangelical support: Greater than Reagan or George W. Bush - White evangelicals supported Trump in larger numbers and a higher proportion of their vote than in earlier Republican eras. Cold War summit diplomacy: 1983–1984 - Reagan used the Siberian Seven issue as a confidence-building measure while seeking a way out of the Cold War. Obama Cairo speech: June 2009 - Obama’s foreign-policy speech echoed the American tradition of religious pluralism as a route to peace and stability.

Pivotal Quotes: "America is exceptional in two ways, one, that it's different from other countries. And the other way is that it's better." — Andrew Preston: Defines the core idea of American exceptionalism and links it to religion. "the marketplace of faith" — Andrew Preston: Describes how church-state separation created competition and innovation among American religions. "the Soviet Union as an evil empire" — Ronald Reagan: Reagan’s famous anti-Soviet rhetoric delivered to the National Association of Evangelicals.

Implications: The episode suggests U.S. politics and foreign policy remain deeply shaped by religious language, even when secularized. Understanding American power requires seeing how faith, pluralism, and moral dualism continue to frame national identity and global intervention.