Politics and religion historically intertwined in the U.S., says sociology professor
Paul PhillipsAlthough the year 1964 and the revival of religious fundamentalism in the 1970s and 1980s were important for the melding of religion and politics in Kansas and Texas, one must not ignore underlying factors and events that took place before then, sociology professor Robert Wuthnow, known for his work on the sociology of religion, argued in a lecture on Thursday. Wuthnow began his lecture by explaining why he was focusing on those two states in particular, saying that although both states are now known as religious and Republican, and both voted for Romney in 2012, Kansas is much smaller and has a history of voting Republican, while Texas began as a slave state and formerly voted Democrat. Wuthnow noted that despite the complex interrelationship between church and state in the politics of Kansas and Texas, both states have a strong tradition of freedom of religion, as well as of separation between church and state.
