Exiles
This chapter explores how white evangelicals cast themselves as outsiders from political and cultural power in the United States, despite the lingering legacy of white Christian hegemony. Their sense of alienation depends on their concomitant sense that they ought not to be outsiders at all, based on their claims about the nation’s Christian heritage. But casting themselves as exiles is a savvy political move. Americans tend to romanticize outsiders, assuming they possess a novel perspective and moral clarity that insiders lack. This chapter examines how Christian tourists in D.C. depict themselves as exiles, despite the material culture they encounter at the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, and other sites. Phrases such as “In God We Trust” as well as biblical inscriptions and statues of Christian leaders demonstrate continued Christian power. It also looks at how this exile role was constructed by the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition in the late twentieth century. Finally, it considers the political benefits of the exile role in a nation that reveres tradition yet cheers for underdogs. Together, the roles of founders and exiles allow white evangelicals to maximize their political power by claiming the most expedient role in a given situation.