While the influence of religion on political behavior is widely recognized, (1) theologically-rooted norms, and the elites who hold or are influenced by them, frame and shape American policy choices to an extent that is not appreciated; (2) the country?s increasing religious diversity is affecting our ability to forge consensus or to govern; and (3) disciplinary ?silos? have prevented scholars from developing a sufficiently comprehensive synthesis of existing scholarship to adequately describe the nature and effects of the religious underpinnings of contemporary political polarization. As a result, while lawyers, political scientists and others recognize the more explicitly religious components of America?s current polarization, we fail to appreciate the extent to which conflicting policy preferences are rooted in religiously-shaped normative frameworks. Much like the blind men and the elephant, we encounter different parts of the animal. We see a tree, a wall, a snake?but we fail to apprehend the size, shape and power of the whole elephant.
A jaundiced look at the world we live in.