the 4 Gospels or the Pauline Corpus

[TJ in Oregon]

My first reaction was, why is that even a question?

Do the Pauline Epistles have an especially high status in American Christian tradition (in as far as one can speak of such a thing) since you can seriously compare their importance to the Gospels?

In a ton of American Protestant traditions, strangely yes.

In any case, the answer here should be obvious. The Gospels are the crux of Christianity, the point around which else is directed toward.