The Marginalization of Secularism in the American Political Practice

Abstract

The religion-politics nexus marginalizes the secular and rational political message, which has a serious impact on the efficiency of American democracy. In fact, a well-functioning democracy is based on a large exchange of political ideas, not on simplistic faith-based preaches. Thus, the US Constitution, the pillar of the American political system, conditioned the well-functioning of democracy on the unambiguous separation between church and state. Yet, the American people's high religiosity has always been largely taken into consideration by major American politicians who have rarely resisted giving a religious orientation to their political message. Indeed, concepts such as "Chosen People", "City upon a Hill" (Colonial Era), "Manifest Destiny", "Divine Ordinance" (19 th c.); "America's Mission", and "American Exceptionalism" (Contemporary Era) have rarely been challenged in the mainstream political milieu, at the expense of the rational, secular perspectives.