Abstract
I would like to start this essay with a quote from Abraham Lincoln who declared: "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right". This famous quote highlights that the close links between religion and political life in the United States are not a recent phenomenon and are deeply rooted in the American tradition. Although, in the middle of the XXth century, America appeared like a rather secularist country things began to change with the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wane which legalized abortion in 1973. Since then, religious movements and organizations played an increasingly important role in the political life of the United States, and referring to religious values and to his personal faith became a requirement for any politician running for national positions. That is why, analyzing and measuring the importance of the religious dimension in the American political life is imperative if one wants to fully understand the rationale of elections or decision-making in the United States. We may therefore wonder in what way and to what extent we may consider that religion shapes the American political life?
