Contextualizing Secularism/Religiosity

Perhaps we are overly concerned with the most visible manifestation/point of tension between secularism/religion - namely, in the political sphere. The issue of whether the political apparatus was structured and underpinned in religious ideology and dogma is an issue, not irrelevant, but not as  pressing as the cultural manifestations/the extent to which our culture is imbued and defined in terms of religious discourse/ iconography; in other words, it seems the culture rather than political structure to a greater degree is underpinned in religious ideology (yet, I am not a historian and do not know the extent to which our found political documents employ a religious language - something to research.) The paradigm of the "Protestant work ethic" seems so deeply engrained in our national consciousness/identity - the whole notion of "picking oneself up by their own bootstraps" (even though, as logical fallible as it is) dominates the formation of our national identity. In a sense, even though it can be construed as intensely secular (that is, entirely individualistic without assistance in divine intervention), perhaps when situated in certain contexts (manifest destiny) becomes a certain religious modality of representing fate and providence. It is interesting to see the point at which the secular political apparatus (supposedly) and the secular cultural body (supposedly) intersect, engendering a sort of formation of intensely providential sentiments.