The Holy See is deeply puzzled by the United States of America. That could explain why it sanctioned the publication of a speculative piece of sociology in the international Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica which has raised a storm of controversy. Written by the journal’s editor in chief, Antonio Spadaro SJ, and Marcelo Figueroa, a Presbyterian layman and editor of the Argentine edition of L’Osservatore Romano, it offers a critical interpretation of major currents on the right of American culture and religion.