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In her public speeches, Sarah Palin often espouses an ideology known as “American exceptionalism” — the idea that the United States occupies a unique place in the world that represents, what Palin calls, a “perfect ideal.”

During her Oct. 2, 2008 debate with Joe Biden, Palin said she shared “that world view that says that America is a nation of exceptionalism. And we are to be that ‘shining city on a hill,’ as President Reagan so beautifully said, that we are a beacon of hope and that we are unapologetic here. We are not perfect as a nation. But together, we represent a perfect ideal.”

One the one hand, this rhetoric might be viewed as idealistic, or even commonplace. The imagery of America as a “city on a hill,” as Palin attributes to Reagan, goes back to colonial times; and American politicians – Barack Obama included – have been conjuring it ever since.

Palin's rhetoric also raises a number of problems: She fuses and jumbles several ideologies and sentiments — including civil religion, patriotism, anti-socialism — under the “exceptionalist” rubric, and in the process, panders to baser political impulses. Following her “unapologetic” train of thought, Palin casts suspicion on people she deems to be outside the “perfect ideal” – or those who don't buy into this view.

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Civil religion and political rhetoric are further discussed in The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray.

“Murray nicely summarizes divergent views on religion's role in public life, capturing key moments in the development of religion in the formation of the nation, the U.S. Constitution, revivalism, and the origins of civil religion, exploring linkages between religion and the concepts of nationhood and belonging.”
— David A. Reichard, Professor of Philosophy, Pre-Law, and Peace Studies, California State University Monterey Bay

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