A challenge.

Currently America is considered still a very religious-minded, center-right nation when it comes to political orientation, how is it possible with a POD starting in Truman's ascension to the Presidency in 1944 can you have the United States become more politically, economically or culturally liberal than it is now in ATL's 2010?
 
Are "very religious" and "socally liberal" mutually exclusive?

As to political liberalism, keeping Chiang Kai Skek from losing so badly to the communists, so that his party continues to control China proper, means no (or, AAR, much smaller) Red Scare in the early 50's. So right there you're strangling fusionist (read "modern") conservatism in the cradle.
 
Are "very religious" and "socally liberal" mutually exclusive?

As to political liberalism, keeping Chiang Kai Skek from losing so badly to the communists, so that his party continues to control China proper, means no (or, AAR, much smaller) Red Scare in the early 50's. So right there you're strangling fusionist (read "modern") conservatism in the cradle.

In comparison to many European countries, it is true that religion plays a large role in American politics, may that be for better or worse while not so in other countries. Have the Democrats and the Republicans [perhaps in different ways] slowly veer towards leftist positions.
 
Are "very religious" and "socally liberal" mutually exclusive?

As to political liberalism, keeping Chiang Kai Skek from losing so badly to the communists, so that his party continues to control China proper, means no (or, AAR, much smaller) Red Scare in the early 50's. So right there you're strangling fusionist (read "modern") conservatism in the cradle.

I actually agree with this, because you'd also have a huge ally against communism in the east if America plays its cards right. Butterflies that extend into Indochina, maybe?
 
Sa'id: The Hiss trial, Whittaker Chambers' switch, and the violent Communist-inspired Hollywood strike of '46, where Reagan received mutilation and death threats.
 
Ronald Reagan was a liberal New Dealer Democrat right up until the early 1950s though I can not find a reason why he slowly became a conservative figure.

He gave speeches for General Electric, and these speeches often lauded free enterprise and the free market, and Reagan started to believe his own speeches.
 
Currently America is considered still a very religious-minded, center-right nation when it comes to political orientation, how is it possible with a POD starting in Truman's ascension to the Presidency in 1944 can you have the United States become more politically, economically or culturally liberal than it is now in ATL's 2010?

Define "liberal". For example, do you want something along the lines of Ireland, or something more along the lines of France? Or Germany?
 
In a variant on the Cold War idea above, if the Soviet Union became very Christian, that would take some of the patriotic shine out of America's unique brand of Christianity. I know that the Communists called religion the Opiate of the masses, but who says opiates are bad? :) The Soviet change could be perhaps under Breshnev as a reform, or under Stalin during his later years (Stalin making an inscrutable policy reversal is hardly even that big of a stretch, really).
 
In a variant on the Cold War idea above, if the Soviet Union became very Christian, that would take some of the patriotic shine out of America's unique brand of Christianity. I know that the Communists called religion the Opiate of the masses, but who says opiates are bad? :) The Soviet change could be perhaps under Breshnev as a reform, or under Stalin during his later years (Stalin making an inscrutable policy reversal is hardly even that big of a stretch, really).

Nice idea but not what I'm looking for.
 
It seems interesting to me that the USA has moved steadily right since around the 1960s. The rise of a left-wing religious movement dedicated to social fairness, helping those in need, and a belief that all people deserve help (as opposed to the gospel of wealth where the poor are punished for their alleged sins) would be an interesting variation.

It may have had its best chance in the turbulent Vietnam Era. If instead of the Hippie Movement, prominent religious voices emerge on the political left to demand a more compassionate, more equitable United States, it would undoubtedly change the political situation in the USA.

Religion need not be on the Political Right. In Latin America, the Catholic Church's Liberation Doctrine demands support for social causes. There are, today, well into the tens of millions of Catholics in the United States, many of which hail from Latin America...

If Religion started aligning on the political left in a large way, there would be more social spending, less military spending, and a larger social net for those in need. Government might be somewhat more wasteful, but disasters like the BP oil Spill would probably not happen, so it is hard to say whether this is a better situation or not.

Alternatively, a Right-Wing Overreach is possible as well. If George W. chokes on a pretzel, Dick Cheney becomes President. Cheney is likely to start wars with Iran and potentially North Korea, while having even less regard for personal freedoms. As little as I like W, he was probably the real voice of moderation in his own government.

President Cheney completely discredits the political right. After getting someone like Condoleeza Rice elected in 2004, things go VERY badly for the political right as the USA is left with giant unpopular wars, increasing corporate scandals, and a even more dysfunctional budget. The Political Left is energized like never before, and the Republican Party is left utterly trashed as Rice is defeated by a massive margin in 2008.
 
Firstly, it's easy to forget that the US is in a lot of ways actually more liberal, socially, than Europe. (Especialy WRT abortion rights and gay rights).

That said, I think that the best chance for a much more liberal US involves making the Carter Administration a success, which may in turn require giving that Administration to some candidate other than Carter, stopping the Iranian Revolution, or both. If you get the usual successful-president paradigm of three terms for the party in question, then Mondale (or whoever the alternative 1980 candidate's VP ways) gets to seriously reshape the Supreme Court, and with Reaganism having failed at the polls in this world, you've probably shifted the Republicans a fair distance leftward as well.

ETA: Wait, no, you either need earlier retirements or else a failed Republican (one-termer) immediately after Carter's second term to get the big Court jackpot. Still, not difficult.
 
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