President George W. Bush on first National Day of Prayer and Remembrance

Civil Religion

The US has created its own "civil religion," a complex body of ambiguous public assertions of faith that obscure the varied, private beliefs of the populace.
Men and women drinking beer at a pre-prohibition bar in Raceland, Louisiana, September 1938.

The Darker Side of Prohibition

During Prohibition, industrial-grade alcohol cost hundreds of American lives. The Coolidge administration encouraged its circulation.