"The relation of Christianity and liberal democracy is generally assumed to be harmonious in the United States, especially when compared to many European nations where the relation seems hostile or indifferent. Indeed, most Americans think that an essential harmony between religion and democracy is a long-standing tradition that can be traced back to the American founding fathers in the eighteenth century. European observers, such as Alexis de Tocqueville, also noticed that Christianity and liberal democracy were mutually supportive in America, in contrast to France, where the two had settled into a relation of mutual hostility."(...)