Christian nationalist history follows a golden-age-fall-redeem narrative structure.

Evidence

Bartonian historiography invariably begins with the myth of the golden age—the idea, in essence, that America was once a single nation with a single God. It goes on to describe a fall and a cause for grievance as the righteous lose their hold, thanks to the actions of secular liberals. The story of the past thus leads inexorably to a political prescription for the future, which for the most part involves retaking the court system and the rest of government and turning it over to Bible believers. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 526

Categorization

• XREF: Classic self-victimization and golden-age structure; echoes themes of manufactured persecution across earlier chapters. — connects to: America has repeatedly overcome reactionary authoritarian movements before — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 1065; Secular ideologies replicate religious salvation-history as a narrative form. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 1831; Christian thinkers fused biblical and Roman imperial history into one narrative — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 97 (+3 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The narrative skeleton — golden age, fall, grievance, prescription — is transferable machinery for understanding vast swaths of reactionary politics.

Broader Connections

• Secular ideologies replicate religious salvation-history as a narrative form. #expands (0.88) — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1831
• Christian thinkers fused biblical and Roman imperial history into one narrative #corroborates (0.75) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 97
• New imperialist narratives retained older Christian justifications within their form #corroborates (0.72) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 98
• The universalized theology of progress makes historians unconsciously reproduce imperial hierarchies #corroborates (0.72) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 209