Searching for Christian America

Abstract

This chapter introduces how white evangelicals imagine and reimagine the American past and how their dynamic relationship to the nation informs their political behavior. It draws on ethnographic research on Christian heritage tourism in Washington, D.C.; the history of the Christian Right; narrative theories of identity; and the material culture of the nation’s capital. Together, these sources show that white evangelicals imagine themselves in four different roles in the American story—founders, exiles, victims, and saviors—and that they see history as the key to America’s salvation. In their view, the nation is in decline, but if they can restore their nostalgic, imagined past, it will prosper once more. This jeremiad is central to white Christian nationalism, and it is perpetuated by the Christian heritage industry, including Christian heritage tours that capitalize on the ambient Christianity of D.C. Attention to this lived history is essential for understanding how religion and politics entwine in the United States today.