Completely agree with @AuronMacintyre’s take here about the importance of reading original sources (the context is George Washington’s Farewell Address, and how reading that and other pre-1945 sources helps you see how different the world was, and how deceived many of us are about what “American values” are). But I would take it a step further: This focus on original sources is precisely what led me away from protestantism, and to the Catholic Church. I discovered “something very radical and modern” (as Auron said) had happened in the 16th century, representing a huge departure from the fullness of Christian truth and fellowship. I discovered the Church Fathers, and the Saints who succeeded them, all of them testifying to a radically different faith and Church than I been taught to believe in. I discovered protestantism was an aberration with no firm basis in history or Christian thought, and that I had unwittingly been on the side that had helped destroy Christian civilization, ironically in the name of Christ. Just like many people today are destroying America in the name of “American values.” When you know our roots, you know that claim is often bunk. The same with the Church and the protestant sects, which is why so many protestants who take the plunge end up Catholic.