Classical liberalism (little-L liberalism) is a political framework for lowering the horizon of government. It was born out of the religious sectarianism of the

Classical liberalism (little-L liberalism) is a political framework for lowering the horizon of government. It was born out of the religious sectarianism of the 17th century, replacing religious fundamentalism with religious freedom: by disestablishing church and state (or limiting the state's capacity for legislating religion), religion was relegated to the home and this lowered the possibility for civil war. American Liberalism (big L) is a political identity (as opposed to American Conservatism, which is also a political identity) and many policy positions are about signaling membership of an in-group to demonstrate moral puritanism (same goes for Conservatism). It is not governed by an overarching ideology