THE WAY FORWARD FOR SOCIAL POLICY IN AMERICA IN THE MIDST OF CONFLICTING RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

This paper discusses the way forward for social policy in America considering the conflicting religious and political ideologies that confront the polity. The paper applies Secularized Evangelical Discourse to analyze the position of the religious right, New Christian Right and mainstream evangelicals to seek answers on the way forward for the American welfare state. This paper argues that the debates between left-wing liberal Democrats and right-wing conservative Republicans have generated an ideological fulcrum that sometimes destabilizes, but often ensures stability for democratic checks and balances. The paper therefore suggests that the way forward for effective social policy implementation is to embrace a secularized notion of moral justice that admits equity, fair play and true statesmanship.