Editor’s Note: Last week, Paul Solman talked to Harvard public policy professor Robert Putnam about religion in America and his new book, “American Grace.” Professor Putnam agreed to answer some of your questions — here are his replies.
Name: corlando
Question: How does America’s religious origins affect its public policy today?
Robert Putnam: This is a big important question, with many possible answers.
Historically, American public policy has often been moved in a progressive (leftward) direction by religion. The egalitarian impulse in the American Revolution had deeply religious roots. The abolition movement came directly out of the “Great Awakening” of the 1830s, a period of evangelical Protestant revivalism. Women’s suffrage and other policies of the Progressive Era (such as workers’ compensation and child labor laws) were pushed by religious movements.
The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was born in churches (first, black churches and then white churches). There are some exceptions: for example, the Prohibition movement against alcohol had deep roots in organized religion. But by and large, religion in America has NOT been a monopoly of the political right. Of course, the last 30 years have been different — religious leaders and organizations have led a movement toward more conservative public policies on social issues like abortion and gay marriage. That is a very important fact about contemporary American politics, but it is important to recognize that it is rather unusual in the full sweep of American history. Yours is a sweeping question, so there is much more to be said, but that’s a beginning of an answer, I hope.
Tags: religion in america, religious freedom usa, robert putnam
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
