First, you may find this earlier thread helpful in answering your question because it involves a general history of 20th century Christian fundamentalism.

Second, I am going to make the assumption that when you say "secular" you mean "not told from a religious perspective," as opposed to secular instead meaning "the opposite or opposed to religion" (see: Richard Dawkins). Any good work in the field of religious studies should be able to satisfy that first definition.

Now to the meat of the question. I would recommend Susan Friend Harding's The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. Harding is an anthropologist by training who embedded herself within Jerry Falwell's community over a span of several years concurrent with the rise of the Moral Majority in the United States. Although the text focuses primarily on Falwell's influence, it goes a long way to addressing your question about the success of the movement by examining how the religious right's use of Biblical language created a compelling message for the faithful that was in keeping with their interpretation of contemporary history.

A general work on Protestantism in America is Mark Noll's The Work We Have to Do. Noll offers up a short, accessible history of Protestantism in the United States up until the modern day that may provide some context that you may find helpful.