"Do you believe in the civic religion of America?” Think of it like this: how could the Catholic Church hold itself together if a significant number of Catholics decided that Jesus Christ, St. Peter, and St. Paul were villains? It couldn't. A nation is not a religion, but it has to hold its founders in esteem - and this is especially true of America, which was not founded on a tribe, as most other nations were. You don't have to believe that Washington, Jefferson, and the Founders were without sin - of course they weren't - but you do have to believe that what they did was good, even heroic. Certainly not villainous.