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The value-system of a community or society is always correlated with, and to a degree dependent upon, a more or less shared system of religious beliefs and convictions.

The religion supports, re-enforces, reaffirms, and maintains the fundamental values.

Even in the United States, with its freedom of religious belief and worship and its vast denominational differentiation, there is a general consensus regarding the basic Christian values.

This is demonstrated especially when there is awareness of radically different value orientation elsewhere ; ;

for example Americans rally to Christian values vis-a-vis those of atheistic communism.

In America also all of our major religious bodies officially sanction a universalistic ethic which is reflective of our common religion.

Even the non-church members -- the freewheelers, marginal religionists and so on -- have the values of Christian civilization internalized in them.

Furthermore, religion tends to integrate the whole range of values from the highest or ultimate values of God to the intermediary and subordinate values ; ;

for example, those regarding material objects and pragmatic ends.

Finally, it gives sanctity, more than human legitimacy, and even, through super-empirical reference, transcendent and supernatural importance to some values ; ;

for example, marriage as a sacrament, much law-breaking as sinful, occasionally the state as a divine instrument.

It places certain values at least beyond questioning and tampering.