ABSTRACT
In his landmark 1835 survey of American political and social life, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville famously remarked, “In the United States religion exercises but little influence upon the laws and upon the details of public opinion; but it directs the customs of the community, and by regulating domestic life, it regulates the state.” By “religion,” he meant Christianity, which, he said, “reigns without obstacle, by universal consent.” He continued:
Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it. Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon religious belief. I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion – for who can search the human heart? – but I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. 1
