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This paper puts theoretical assumptions about the rhetoric of American Civil Religion (ACR) to the empirical test by analyzing a sample of Presidential election speech from 1960 to 2020. First, we quantify 14 motifs theorized to be part of ACR. Second, we examine the claim that ACR is a non-sectarian religion distinct from Christianity. Third, we consider if ACR is a persistent rhetorical phenomenon. Fourth, we investigate whether ACR articulation transcends partisan ideologies. We find that ACR is a non-sectarian religion which is distinct from Christianity, that it is a persistent rhetorical phenomenon, and that it transcends partisan lines. Nevertheless, we also find that some motifs previously theorized to be core tenets of ACR are conspicuously scant in the data examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]