The American civil religion and Christianity are not the same. Meacham writes, The Republic is not a church, but it is a Republic filled with churches. Let the religious speak but encourage them not to shout; let them argue, but encourage them not to brawl. The system the Founders built allows for religious considerations to play a role in politics in the same measure—no greater, no smaller—as any other consideration, whether geographical, economic, or cultural.14
