One of the loudest and most accepted voices in the public squares of early America was that of the Protestant Christians, Cromartie said. But beginning with the Scopes trial of 1925, Christians began to shy away from the public arena, even going so far as to say that God's work could only be done within the church's walls. By the late 1970s, Christian involvement in politics revived, but mainly because Christians increasingly felt the government was working against them rather than with them. The argument should never be whether Christians ought to be involved in social and political issues. Jean Bethke Elshtain, a professor of social and political ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School, insisted government and religious institutions cannot afford to separate themselves.
Religion draws people into the community and away from themselves.
Religion and politics cannot be separated. To separate the two compromises the Constitution's promise of freedom of religion, Elshtain contended. A private religion is no religion at all. Like Elshtain, Monsma said he believes the no-aid theory's strict policy of separation of church and state is a detriment to American society. For the poor and low-income families, the results are often truly tragic.