Ducoste 1

Lauren Ducoste
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
10/1/16
Christianity and Government: The Biggest Match Up of the Century
Introduction/Overview
In God we trust is printed on American currency. One nation under God, is recited in
the Pledge of Allegiance. Americans swear under oath with their hand on the bible prior to
testifying in court. Why is there so much evidence of christianity woven into our society if our
country is meant to be devoid of a national religion? Our founding fathers established America
with a conservative Christian mindset. Since then our country has made advancements towards a
progressively liberal culture. I will be examining the process by which America is turning from a
more conservative to liberal society, and how this will effect the future of our nation.
The United States has become increasingly liberal since its foundation. But what were
those initial conservative principles based on? Religion plays a large part in our freedom and the
government is meant to have no religious stance. Although, religion has proven to have been
used as bases for many laws and principles established in society, and is likely to be the reason
for the conservative principles on which our country is based.
There were essentially two groups when it came to creating the Constitution, and
deciding on which principles the country would stand. According to Rick Wingrove, one
believed in a stronger, christian based government, and another suggested the government
remain neutral in terms of religion. Our Founding Fathers came to the conclusion of not creating
a national religion by the inclusion of the First Amendment. The Constitution refers little to
religion, although, there are many references to Christianity. For example, in Article VII, The

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Constitution states, Year of our Lord, when describing the date in which the Constitution was
signed. Religion has continuously been the grounds for many laws in the state and federal
government. For example, slavery was justified by portions of the bible, as well as fear of
economic downfall in the South. Womens inability to vote as well had some roots in some
interpretation of the bible.
Despite the clear christian foundation of this country, what has changed to lead us
towards a more liberal society? Rabid fundamentalism, based on biblical literalism, is rampant in
our politics (Wingrove). According to the article, this ideology results in legislative paralysis.
The nature of our nations population has become more bold and outspoken, and people are more
willing to fight for their given rights and for what they believe in. This could in part be the
reason for the shift from convective to liberal.
There are many different stances that lie within the country in terms of religion and its
relationship to government. Although, the main two correlate with the groups that wrote the
Constitution: those who believe religion, specifically christianity, should be integrated into laws
and policies, and those who believe there should be a clear-cut separation between church and
state. While there are different beliefs in how our culture is changing, the government is
consistently more to one side, that side being more conservative. This could correlate to the sheer
lack of diversity among government officials. In 2015, Faith on the Hill published that 92% of
the House and Senate are Christian, while only 73% of American Adults are Christian. This may
explain why christian values are so prevalent in society. 54% of congress is Republican and 44%
is Democratic. Of those Democrats, 81.6% are Christian, and 99.7% of the Republicans are
Christian. Congress is not an accurate representation of the American population, and therefore
cannot always make decisions that are for to the entire population.

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Initial Inquiry Question(s)

What is the cause of our nations shift from conservative to liberal, and what does this
mean for the future of our society? Why is the religion often the backing for laws and policies,
despite the intention of separation of church and state woven throughout the Constitution? Why
is there an increasing absence of christianity in todays culture? Did conservative vs. liberal
values play a part in the formation of the Democratic and Republican parties?
My Interest in this Topic
This topic has always been of interest to me. Even in my 18 years of living, I have seen
gay marriage be legalized, marijuana legalized in some states, as well as the passing of North
Carolinas House Bill 2. 50 years ago, no one would have ever imagined these things would
happen, and it makes me wonder, why, now, are we turning into such a liberal establishment?
Despite my own christian beliefs, I strongly believe that all people should be treated equally and
fairly. Therefore, if the integration of christian values into America is causing others to be treated
less fairly, I would fight for them. I feel all people are entitled to their own beliefs, but that when
in a position of high authority, one must remain neutral when making decisions that effect all
people. I have seen so many examples where this was not the case, and I am curious to know
why it continues to happen, despite how our country was founded. I hope to understand why our
country is beginning to stray from these christian principles, and what that means for our society
in the future.
Next Steps
In order to better understand how christian values are reducing, leading to our change to a
more liberal society, I will research examples of court cases in history that have relation to an
unconstitutional usage of religion. I will also research what opposing views exist in terms of how
religion should be involved in government, as well as the reasoning behind religions decline in

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government. I will talk to the reference librarians at UNC Charlottes library about the
Constitution, so that I may find all the references to christianity or religion in the Constitution,
both directly and indirectly. I plan to visit a website called Americans United, which supports the
separation of church and state. This website will supply me with current articles relating to
religion and government. I will visit lawandliberty.org to understand more about christianity
and its influence on the Founding Fathers, and that may relate to society today.