Church and State

Across the United States religious groups have been changing in beliefs and practices in order to adapt to modern times. Different changes among different groups tend to be classified as either liberal or conservative based on attitudes towards adapting tradition to cultural changes, interpretations of the bible, and the organizations views of working with other religious groups. The evolving environment of traditional church life has led to a decrease in literalist, but also an increase in people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, a considerable change to traditional church life in the United States. As had been present in the past the correlation between church goers and those who hold politically conservative or republican values has persisted, and in more recent times strengthened. Since 1992 the correlation between religiously active people and those who hold conservative political values or identify as republican has strengthened. Specifically, the correlation between weekly church attendees and political outlook on abortion, premarital sex, and homosexuality has strengthened at differing rates. In regards to legal abortion in any case regular church attendees have become significantly more conservative, though in regards to premarital sex and homosexuality, regular attendees have either remand the same of have even become more liberalized about the subject since the 1970s. The overall regular church going population though is still considered to be more conservative than not. In a greater sense, these trends continue to enforce that the shifting religious trends across the United States has a far reaching influence in all aspects of a person’s life.