Journal of Policy History

Reichley, James.
Faith in Politics
Journal of Policy History - Volume 13, Number 1, 2001, pp. 157-180

Penn State University Press

James Reichley - Faith in Politics - Journal of Policy History 13:1 Journal of Policy History 13.1 (2001) 157-180 Faith in Politics A. James Reichley In the closing years of the twentieth century, religion became a paramount concern for practitioners and analysts of American politics. During the campaign for the crucial 2000 election, probably shaping the balance of power in national politics for years to come, presidential candidates and party leaders made religion a central factor in their strategies. Some commentators worry that the rising political salience of religion may create dangerous divisions in American society, as has often occurred in such places as Northern Ireland, the Balkans, the Middle East, and India. Some warn of threats to constitutional separation between church and state. Throughout most of American history, however, religion has played a potent, though varying, role in political life. Protestant clergy ardently supported the Revolution, and religious bodies enlisted on both sides in the struggle over abolition of slavery that led to the Civil War. Religious groups played major parts in drives for women's suffrage and prohibition of alcohol early in the twentieth century and provided vital support for passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Catholicism was an issue with the presidential candidacies of Al Smith in 1928 and John Kennedy in 1960. The massive shift of white evangelicals from the Democratic to the...