Abstract
Several fundamental changes took place at the core of the American society in the second half of the 20th century, especially in terms of the relation between religion and politics. Whilst the notion of 'Fourth Great Awakening' is controversial, the fact remains that America has been subject to parallel and somewhat paradoxical trends. On one hand, the Nation became more and more secularized but, on the other hand, religious groups and, in particular, fundamentalist cults gained increasing political influence. Faced with new socio-economic conditions and with the emergence of new social issues, traditional religious groups were totally caught unprepared, and their confusion favored the reinforcement of reformist, or even fundamentalist, religious movements. Left-leaning and Civil Rights-related movements of the 1960s and the New Christian Right which emerged in the 1970s are two major examples of these new religious movements seeking to reform the American society. Even though they were politically opposed as they didn't fight for the same social causes, their overall goal was similar: they both were dedicated to implement radical changes in the American society in order to redeem it.
