Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Government - Essay Example In contrast, unitary governance system is characteristic of power centralization. Instead of having independent states or provinces, as it is the case in the United States, a unitary system functions based on subnational units. Critical to note is that these subnational units are subject to the influence of the central government. In this respect, the central authority governs local governments under the unitary system. Great Britain and France are good examples of governments that practice the unitary system. While national and state governments share power under federalism, the central government decentralizes or delegates power to subnational units under the unitary form of government (Lansford 44). Political cultures that adopt federalism are those that believe in more than one body of legislation. These cultures lack parliamentary systems, and instead rely on bicameral constitutional provisions for legislation formulation and implementation. In contrast, most unitary governments are unicameral. In order to share and subsequently regulate power, legislation at the state or province level is either approved or rejected by the head of the national government. Most importantly, both state and national governments work together in social, economic, or political matters. Religious beliefs and practices vary from one region to another. In the United States, religious freedom is constitutionally provided for. In other words, the constitution makes it clear religion and state are two different entities. What this means is that the government, through congress, cannot interfere with an individual’s choice, belief, or practice of religion. The constitutional provisions made in the First Amendment accord protection to the religious freedoms of the American people. The free exercise clause prohibits congress from interfering with religious beliefs or practices of the American people (Horwitz 63). On