God and Society.
Differences Between the Left and Conservatives Part II
God and Society.
For the left, religion is viewed as a private matter that should not influence public life. This perspective became especially visible during the Covid lockdowns, when church gatherings were restricted while sports events, in-person government meetings, and large protests-whether against Donald Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement or in support of Biden’s election-were permitted. It’s also notable that movements such as LGBTQ+ advocacy and other political causes are welcomed in classrooms, yet the Bible is often treated as a forbidden text. While these movements are not religions in the traditional sense, their belief systems and sense of community can be just as dogmatic.
Conservatives, by contrast, generally advocate for a secular government but desire a religious society. For them, a society rooted in faith is a moral one, where people regulate their behavior out of reverence for God or a well-formed conscience-going beyond mere compliance with the law. They argue that this moral foundation discourages people from exploiting loopholes or committing crimes simply because they can get away with it. While some religious fundamentalists do seek to infuse government with religious doctrine, most conservatives prefer a relationship with God through church, community, family, and self.
It’s worth noting that James Madison, often called the “Father of the Constitution,” argued for a strict separation of church and state-not to protect government from religion, but to protect religion from the corrupting influence of government. As Madison wrote, “Religion & Govt. will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”
Even though the United States was founded on the principle of separating church and state, its founding documents and national symbols are deeply Christian. “In God We Trust” is the national motto. The Great Seal of the United States depicts the Israelites leaving Egypt. The main inscription on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia comes from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.” And as the Declaration of Independence puts it, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Historically, the Bible was the foundation for parents to teach values to their children. Science, by contrast, is a tool for understanding the world, but it does not prescribe how we ought to act within it. In recent years, even biological sciences have faced criticism if their findings conflict with prevailing social narratives within the woke movement. Science itself cannot respond to this-as it is a method for gathering data, not a source of values or a belief system.
