In addition to coining the still contemporary phrase “military industrial complex”, U.S. President Dwight D Eisenhower also played a pivotal role in bringing religion and the Church back into government.

Below is a passage from the book “One Nation Under God” ,which traces the development of the religious right in the U.S. and places much of the “blame” for this at the feet of Ike, the popular post war President.

In Eisenhower’s hands, a religious movement born in opposition to the government was transformed into one that fused faith and the federal government as never before. During the 1950s, Eisenhower revolutionized the role of religion in American political culture, inventing new traditions from inaugural prayers to the National Prayer Breakfast. Meanwhile, Congress added the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trust” the country’s first official motto. With private groups joining in, church membership soared to an all-time high of 69%. For the first time, Americans began to think of their country as an officially Christian nation.

The book details Ike’s use of religion to further “individual rights” – quite shocking, worth reading – especially for those concerned about the separation of Church and State in the U.S.