Medieval America Cultural Influences of Christianity in the Law and Public Policy

The United States remains one of the most highly religious industrial democracies on earth, even into the twenty-first century. Recent Gallup surveys suggest that 76% of Americans believe that the Bible is divinely inspired or the direct word of God. Medieval America: Cultural Influences of Christianity in the Law and Public Policy explores how those policies have come to affect the political debates and collective practices in the United States. This work seeks to open a more critical discourse on the political influence of religion in American politics. What people believe shapes how they behave and the policies they support. Even with secular structures and processes, a democratic regime will reflect the belief patterns distributed among the public. It is our contention that in order to promote and maintain a free, open, and tolerance society it is necessary to limit the influence of religion in the domains of law and policy. Medieval America seeks to take a step in that direction by exploring the religious influences in the American political culture.