In the ancient days when I was a recent college graduate teaching at a parish parochial school, I observed the intersection of religion and politics at the most basic level. On the days of the township council meeting, if I looked up at the classroom windows in the afternoon, I would see the deputy mayor leave his car and walk to the rectory for a meeting with the parish priest. In many municipalities in northern New Jersey, very little went on at council meetings that wasn't signed off on by the parish priest. These were communities settled by Italian immigrants who came to work the mines. Everybody was Roman Catholic and therefore the parish priest controlled the town. It worked very well until some pesky Protestants moved into town. Seems very simple when you consider the religious conflicts today.
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