The other day after class, Karin and I were talking about how much de Tocqueville discusses religion and politics. De Tocqueville believed it would be best if religion and politics were kept separate in a democracy. We thought it was interesting that he believed this and still discussed this topic throughout the sections we read. Even though de Tocqueville states that he is religious, we began to wonder whether he talks about religion and politics as much as he does due to the popularity of religion at this time. Religion was a foundational element in many people’s lives, both in America and Europe. If he did not mention religion as much as he did, would people have taken his thoughts about democracy seriously?
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteGreat questions. Let me add these: how did a French Roman Catholic understand the revival going on the USA while he visited?
LDL