Ninth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

In the United States today vituperation, vilification and invective mark today’s hyper-partisan political discourse. Personal attacks on opponents replace reasoned discourse. Such debased political speech makes our American government inoperative and threatens our democracy. Throughout U.S. history religion has played a significant role in our politics. Many Americans use their religion as a guide to their political activity. This paper focuses on the question of how religion affects political civility and civic friendship in this country. Its conclusion is that religion significantly hinders the practice of political civility and civic friendship.