Editing Politics of the United States (section)

==== Religious groups ====
{{See also|Religion and politics in the United States|Religion in the United States|Christianity in the United States|Freedom of religion in the United States|Religious discrimination in the United States}}

Despite the First Amendment of the constitution's [[Establishment Clause]] ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ..."), for historical and demographic reasons, religious groups (primarily [[Christianity|Christian]] groups) have frequently become political pressure groups and they have also become parts of [[Political alliance|political coalitions]].<ref name=":12" />  In recent decades, conservative [[Evangelicalism|evangelicals]] have been particularly active within the broader [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last1=BERNSTEIN|first1=ELIZABETH|last2=JAKOBSEN|first2=JANET R |date=2010 |title=Sex, Secularism and Religious Influence in US Politics |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=1023–1039 |doi=10.1080/01436597.2010.502739 |jstor=27896595 |pmid=20857575 |s2cid=39112453 |issn=0143-6597}}</ref> This influence has often translated into the passing of laws related to morality and personal conduct.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal|last=Fairbanks|first=David|date=1977|title=Religious Forces and "Morality" Policies in the American States |journal=The Western Political Quarterly|volume=30|issue=3|pages=411–417|doi=10.2307/447941|jstor=447941|issn=0043-4078}}</ref> State [[Blue laws in the United States|alcohol and gambling laws]], for example, are more restrictive in states with a higher percentage of [[Conservative Christianity|conservative Christians]].<ref name=":13" />