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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    America Is a "Christian Nation" — Since When?

    The Constitution never mentions God, and the Founding Fathers were adamant about the separation of Church and State. The Pledge of Allegiance didn't say "under God" until the 1950's, and that's when the phrase "In God We Trust" showed up on the dollar bill.

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    By Warren Olney • Apr 10, 2015 • 1 min read

    The Constitution never mentions God, and the Founding Fathers were adamant about the separation of Church and State. The Pledge of Allegiance didn't say "under God" until the 1950's, and that's when the phrase "In God We Trust" showed up on the dollar bill. Those are examples used by Kevin Kruse, a Princeton historian, to support his thesis in the new book, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America.

    So why do so many Americans consider this is a Christian nation? We hear how Big Business used religion to discredit the New Deal, organized labor and government regulation. Socialism was demonized, and God associated with Free Enterprise Capitalism… all the way to the White House. Is that legacy still with us?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    One Nation under God…but Since When?
    1. 1:20Mastermind of Mumbai Terror Attack Is Released from Jail
    2. 8:06America Is a "Christian Nation" — Since When?You’re reading this
    3. 42:19Defrosting US-Cuba Relations Overshadows Summit of the Americas
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sáša Woodruff

      Producer, 'To the Point'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Benjamin Gottlieb

      Reporter, Fill-in Host

    • KCRW placeholder

      Kevin Kruse

      Princeton University

    • KCRW placeholder

      Gary Smith

      Grove City College

    • KCRW placeholder

      Alan Cooperman

      Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    One Nation under God…but Since When?
    1. 1:20Mastermind of Mumbai Terror Attack Is Released from Jail
    2. 8:06America Is a "Christian Nation" — Since When?You’re reading this
    3. 42:19Defrosting US-Cuba Relations Overshadows Summit of the Americas
    Back to To the Point