Reflection for January 31

The conservatives’ myth of religious beginnings [of the United States] has such a strong hold on the popular conception of our history because it is buttressed by secularists who say the same thing in hope that the first group says in fear—that America was religious at the outset but that reason, science, and progress have made us less religious year by year. Both myths are wrong. Both present the exact opposite of what actually occurred (Head and Heart: American Christianities, Garry Wills, 2007).