In an ABCNews.com story about the Tea Party's anthem, "I am America," Mathew Schmalz, associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, says he's not surprised the song appeals to Tea Partiers, because of its religious themes.
The Tea Party “is in part a religious movement," Schmalz told ABCNews.com. "There are ways in which its political philosophy resonates with evangelical Protestants in this country."
Though Tea Party leaders deny their movement is religious, Schmalz and other scholars see many connections to Christian conservatism, particularly in the group's emphasis on the founding fathers.
“I think in some ways the founding fathers are almost divinized,” Schmalz said. “They don’t say this explicitly. There is this resonance they were these far-seeing individuals who had more than normal human perception.”
This "Holy Cross in the News" item by Kristine Maloney.
