There is no doubt that such a theological underpinning is deep in U.S. self-understanding, as now exhibited in political discourse. The claim is not simply belated political pandering (though it is certainly that). The claim goes back all the way to the Puritan notion of "a city set on a hill," a theological vocation variously expressed as "Manifest Destiny," or currently as "leader of the free world." This brand of exceptionalism comes as close as is possible to understanding the United States as God's chosen people, a carrier of God's purpose amid a world of "godless nations."
