My major area of study is Political Science, and even if you haven't majored in political studies you know that there are few things left untouched by politics. Religion, of course, is no exception. Issues concerning religion are some of the most hotly contested topics in politics today. Consider as an example, the seemingly never-ending conflict in the Middle East over rights to Israel. It can be argued that this conflict has as much to do with politics as it does with religious beliefs. However, I think the way in which politics most closely relates to the study of world religions is in its creation of so- called "civil religion."

American civil religion is a religion borne entirely from politics. It got its start at a point in American history when phenomena called the Great Awakening swept across the nation. The Great Awakening began as a spiritual revival in the American colonies. As a result

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The martyrs of American civil religion are those who have died in the service of democracy. Nathan Hale, an American spy at the time of the American Revolution, and members of the armed forces who have died in battle would be considered martyrs of American civil religion.

American civil religion also comes with it's own set of "high priests", if you will. These originally tended to be the Presidents- with some even becoming "saints" with days of national veneration. This group would include men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln. Eventually Justices of the Supreme Court came to be included in this group as expositors of the "sacred texts."

American civil religion has a set of sacred texts all it's own as well. These would include: the Declaration of Independence, the constitution, The Federalist Papers, the

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