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→The United States: added Moynihan
{{cquote|The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live.<ref>Democracy in America, Volume I Chapter XVII (1835)</ref>}}
{{cquote|The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live.<ref>Democracy in America, Volume I Chapter XVII (1835)</ref>}}
The [[Puritans]] in [[New England]], and other later Christian groups were instrumental in forming a country with a distinctive Christian character. Noted evangelical author and commentary [[Os Guinness]] comments that,
The [[Puritans]] in [[New England]], and later, other Christian groups were instrumental in forming a country with a distinctive Christian character. Noted evangelical author and commentary [[Os Guinness]] comments that,
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
while America has never officially been a "Christian Republic," for much of its history the Christian faith has been a leading contributor to its unofficial civil religion.<ref>Os Guinness, ''American Hour'', p. 225</ref>
while America has never officially been a "Christian Republic," for much of its history the Christian faith has been a leading contribution to its unofficial civil religion.<ref>Os Guinness, ''American Hour'', p. 225</ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Religiously, a notable number of young persons honestly seeking for reality became part of what some term a [[Fourth Great Awakening]], out of which evangelical churches such as [[Calvary Chapel]] began and grew to be significance denominations.
Religiously, a notable number of young persons honestly seeking for reality became part of what some term a [[Fourth Great Awakening]], out of which evangelical churches such as [[Calvary Chapel]] began and grew to be significance denominations.
''See also [[morality]]
===Responses===
Reactions to moral decline in America have been varied. The [[liberal media]] and places of "higher" education (such as [[Harvard University]]) overall treat the 60's sexual revolution as beneficial change, and victory for its liberal ethos.
A rare dissenting voice among [[Democrats]] was moderately conservative [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]], who wrote Defining Deviancy Down (1993), which argued that due to the moral deregulation of the 1960s,
<blockquote>
the amount of deviant behavior in American society has increased beyond the levels the community can "afford to recognize" and that, accordingly, we have been re-defining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the "normal" level in categories where behavior is now abnormal by any earlier standard. This redefining has evoked fierce resistance from defenders of "old" standards, and accounts for much of the present "cultural war" such as proclaimed by many at the 1992 Republican National Convention.
</blockquote>
He further sounded a warning that,
<blockquote>
there is one unmistakable lesson in American history: a community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational expectations about the future - that community asks for and gets chaos. Crime, violence, unrest, unrestrained lashing out at the whole social structure - that is not only to be expected; it is very near to inevitable.
</blockquote>
==See also==
[[Morality]]
== References ==
== References ==