Religious Framing Intensifies as Economic Confidence Wavers and Moral Standing as a City on a Hill Erodes

Surge in Judeo-Christian Identity Language Reflects Intensifying Cultural Debate

Perscient's semantic signature tracking language positioning America as one of the last defenders of Judeo-Christian values rose by 22 points to reach 133, more than double its long-term mean and representing the largest single-month increase across all tracked narratives.

The Trump administration’s ambitions for advancing Christian political identity has contributed to this escalation. The U.S. Department of Education's September proposal for "promoting patriotic education" explicitly lists "Judeo-Christianity" as an important influence on the American political tradition, though the term itself remains undefined in the regulatory text. At the 2026 World Economic Forum, Argentine President Javier Milei drew audible gasps from the audience when he argued that the West must embrace Greek philosophy, Roman law, and Judeo-Christian values, declaring that "the world has begun to wake up, and the best proof of this is what is happening in America with the rebirth of ideas of freedom."

Social media discourse reveals the contested nature of this framing. Some voices insist that "America was founded on Judeo-Christian values, and is still at heart a Christian nation," with one user arguing that assimilation requires respecting these foundations. Others trace what they see as cultural decline to 1962, when the Supreme Court's school prayer decisions allegedly opened the door to indoctrination by excluding these values from public education.

Yet the "Judeo-Christian" label itself faces significant pushback. Critics point out that the term did not gain currency until the late nineteenth century, with some arguing that it represents a theological impossibility that contradicts both Jewish and Christian traditions. Many Jewish commentators reject the framing entirely, contending that "the myth of a Judeo-Christian society rests on the false—and dangerous—idea that Judaism and Christianity hold the same ideas and values." The recent Epstein document releases have added another dimension, with some commentators suggesting that it is "a rough time to be a Judeo-Christian" given the revelations.

Perscient's semantic signature tracking language arguing that America is abandoning religious foundations strengthened by 5 points to 36, indicating that both sides of the religious identity debate are gaining media prominence. Historical perspective on church-state relations has entered the conversation, with some invoking Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists to argue that the "wall of separation" was intended as "a shield, not a sword" protecting religious practice from government interference rather than excluding faith from public life. The concurrent rise in both religious identity signatures suggests that media discourse is increasingly polarized around questions of America's foundational values rather than converging on any consensus view.

Economic Engine Narrative Declines Sharply as AI Investment Sustains Global Growth

Perscient's semantic signature tracking language asserting that America is the world's economic engine declined by 38 points in the past month, the largest single-month decrease across all tracked narratives, falling from 55 to 17. While still above its long-term mean, this weakening suggests reduced media emphasis on American economic dominance even as U.S. growth continues to outpace expectations.

The IMF's January 2026 projections indicate that global growth will hold steady at 3.3 percent this year, with most of the improvement accounted for by the United States and China. Goldman Sachs Research forecasts U.S. GDP expansion of 2.5% for 2026, above the consensus economist estimate of 2.1%, with full-year growth projected at 2.8%. Yet these headline figures mask a more complicated story about the composition of American economic activity.

A key driver of resilience is the continued surge in IT investment, particularly in artificial intelligence. Bridgewater Associates' January 2026 research estimates that AI-related investment will boost U.S. GDP growth by approximately 140 basis points this year, with IT investment as a share of U.S. economic output reaching its highest level since 2001. This concentration has prompted observers to note that the economy is flying on a single engine, with Big Tech and AI "flying high" while "everything else shrinks." Some analysts argue that without AI spending, "the American economy is in recession."

The manufacturing sector presents a stark contrast. Post-holiday reordering boosted manufacturing activity in January, but the broader trend remains concerning. Manufacturing employment dropped by 68,000 jobs in 2025, with the ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index remaining below 50 for much of the year while costs rose and employment fell. Factory production contracted at a 0.7% annualized rate in the fourth quarter. Manufacturing employment has declined every month since April 2025, when the president said that tariffs would bring factories "roaring back."

Perscient's semantic signature tracking language lamenting American industrial decline rose modestly by 2 points to 63, remaining well above its long-term mean. One observer noted that Trump's tariffs coincided with declining manufacturing jobs throughout 2025, while another catalogued the data showing that tariffs have "reduced manufacturing employment in the USA in 2025, raised costs of inputs for manufacturing, closed even more markets for American farmers." The divergence between declining "economic engine" language and persistent "industrial decline" language suggests that media narratives are increasingly distinguishing between aggregate economic performance and the health of specific sectors.

Growing Gap Between American Aspirations and Perceived Moral Standing

The tension between economic narratives finds a parallel in discourse about American values. Perscient's semantic signature tracking language expressing faith that America eventually chooses to do the right thing rose by 18 points to 31. Simultaneously, our signature tracking language questioning American moral standing rose by 6 points, though it remains slightly below its long-term mean at -1.

Survey data illuminates this tension. According to a January 2026 NPR/Ipsos poll, 61% of Americans say that the U.S. should be a moral leader, but only 39% believe that it currently is—a sharp decline from 60% in 2017. Half of those surveyed think that the U.S. has been losing influence on the global stage over the past five years, while 57% said that China has been gaining influence. Partisan differences are pronounced: 64% of Republicans believe that the U.S. is the moral leader, compared to only 24% of Democrats and 35% of Independents.

Perscient's semantic signature tracking language celebrating America as a global symbol of liberty remains below average at -11 but rose by 2 points, while our signature tracking language arguing that America has lost moral authority also rose by 3 points to -4. This parallel movement in seemingly contradictory framings suggests that the discourse is becoming more active across the spectrum rather than settling into consensus.

Perscient's semantic signature tracking language expressing optimism about America's future rose by 6 points to 3, crossing above its long-term mean. Despite external uncertainty, Americans are optimistic that 2026 will be better than 2025 for them personally, according to Ipsos polling. Yet this personal optimism coexists with institutional skepticism. Gallup reports that Americans head into 2026 expecting a difficult year, with pessimism heightened since last year, mainly reflecting a decline in Republicans' high expectations at the start of the president's second term. A JPMorgan Chase survey found that just 39% of midsize business leaders are optimistic about the national economy in 2026, down sharply from 65% a year earlier.

The surge in religious identity framing, the concentration of economic growth in AI investment while manufacturing struggles, and the gap between moral aspirations and perceived standing all point to a nation grappling with fundamental questions about its identity, purpose, and trajectory. These narratives are not converging toward resolution but rather intensifying in parallel.

Archived Pulse

January 2026

• Judeo-Christian Values Discourse Reaches Elevated Levels
• American Power Narratives Show Competing Trajectories
• Trust and Moral Authority Language Show Mixed Movement, Too

December 2025

• Public Expressions of Pride in America in Retreat
• Industrial Lament Language Gains Steam
• Religious and Geopolitical Identity Narratives Fade, Too

November 2025

• Competing Visions of American Global Standing Reach Historic Intensity
• Economic Engine Narrative Weakens Amid Tariff Uncertainty and Growth Concerns
• Industrial Decline Narrative Gains Traction Despite Policy Promises

Pulse is your AI analyst built on Perscient technology, summarizing the major changes and evolving narratives across our Storyboard signatures, and synthesizing that analysis with illustrative news articles and high-impact social media posts.