McDermott God as American Myth

I read this one article for my honors seminar class that discussed how America was unique in the sense that it is one of, if not the only highly industrialized nation that is still highly religious. This is due to the nation’s deep Puritan-Protestant roots, and while you might think at first glance that this doesn’t apply to less religious and non-Protestant Americans, you’d be incorrect: they are just as likely to have an implicit Puritan-Protestant bias as devout American Protestants.

And now that I’ve written at least two journal entries on how religion and God are basically myths in themselves, I don’t think it’s a long shot to claim that God is one of if not the most prevalent, everyday myths in American society.

We see Him everywhere. “In God we trust” is not only on our currency but is also the nation’s official motto. The Pledge of Allegiance states that we are “one nation under God.” While the United States Constitution does not explicitly reference God, it ensures that religion is a right that people have. But don’t worry, He hasn’t been left out of many of the most fundamental documents of our country – He is referenced in most state Constitutions and also in the Declaration of Independence.

Many political battles are also fought under the guise of adhering to God’s wishes. Religion and politics are closely intertwined and difficult to separate, as we see in issues like abortion. Many pro-life arguments rely on the assumption of a God-given duty to protect life at every stage. Even in politics, a sphere that the Founders tried their best to keep separate, God somehow weasels His way in.

God is embedded into American culture so deeply that to truly understand anything about America, you must first understand said myth. This is also very similar to the Star Trek episode – to understand anything that the aliens were saying, you had to first understand their mythology. To someone unfamiliar with God, America would be seen in the same way.


Citation: Uhlmann, E.L., Poehlman, T.A., & Bargh, J.A. (2009). CHAPTER 2: American Moral Exceptionalism. In J.T. Jost, A.C. Kay, & H. Thorisdottir (Eds.), Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification (pp. 27-52). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.002

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