Reconstructionist thought has a special attraction for rural Americans.  A glance at R. J. Rushdoony's explanation of the biblical tithe in his Institutes for Biblical Religion reveals why.

Rural America subsists mostly on farming and ranching.  Every decade, for more than a generation, greater challenges have threatened the economic survival of those that live in these communities.  Every year the population of small towns decline as the elderly die, the young move to the cities to find work, and the rest live from one day to the next.  Foreclosures by banks for unpaid mortgages and by local governments for unpaid taxes have been commonplace.  Bad weather, bad luck and bad policies by civil bureaucrats have caused thousands of small farmers and ranchers to lose homesteads that have been in their families for generations.  Resentment is strong, conspiracy theories are rampant, and every possible scapegoat is actively pursued.