Throughout the 1970s, the United States went through a lot of change both politically and as a society. One way the US changed was through women’s rights. Organizations such as NOW started to create awareness on the discrimination towards women in the workplace. One example of this is the equal rights amendment. Even though this amendment was not passed, it still created a big impact on the life of women. Women had more benefits and work since maternity leave was not secured and fair divorce laws enacted. There were also more women’s study programs introduced and the number of female elected officials increased. Another change was affirmative action. Throughout the 1970s, minorities started to speak out for equality. Acts like the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the Bakke v. University of California were ways in which the minorities could gain equality. In the Bakke vs. University of California, the Supreme Court decided that the university could not use fixed quotas in making admissions decisions. Lastly there was also some religious Reawakening throughout the 1970s. Some examples of this are the fact that there were many religious groups at the time. one of the most famous religious leaders is Martin Luther King Jr. These groups spoke out for equality in a peaceful way.
This movement was cause by the rise of atheism and agnosticism. Prayer was not require in schools anymore. Religious leaders saw this and instigated another religious movement. It effected politics a lot. Today, being Christian is typically associated with the Republican Party, even though there are many christians in the Democratic Party as well. Before the 1970's religion wasn't associated with politics. Church leader thought politics were dirty. So being an open Christian in politics is vital to being elected. Few politicians are openly non-religious. Even if they haven't stepped foot in a church in decades, they still say they maintain a religious relationship so that they are reelected.
The religious group that did not expand their membership by great numbers during the Second Great Awakening was Catholics. The Second Great Awakening in the United States started in 1790 and ended in 1840
