Religiosity in the United States has been a constant feature of studies of American exceptionalism, and is often mentioned as both agent and by-product of the ascendancy of conservative politics over the last two decades. While the citizens of all the other Western industrial democracies became less religious with each generation, and church attendance and belief in God dropped sharply, the United States remained the exception to the rule.
A number of surveys over the last decades have showed atheism and agnosticism in the single digits (only two percent of atheists). The country is run by a born-again Christian, faith-based initiatives are the flavor of the day, church attendance remains vibrant, and a hypothetical atheist president is always dead last in "would you vote for" polls, faring worse than Muslims, homosexuals, and ex-communists. In addition, the last two decades have seen religion and politics mixing with special intensity. The Christian right took center stage as a decisive voting bloc in the last elections, fighting over issues like abortion, gay rights, prayer in school, stem cell research, and evolution. In 2004, after the rise of the insurgency in Iraq and the loss of Fallujah, after the failure to find WMDs, and right after the Abu Ghraib scandal, George W. Bush still won reelection thanks to the strong support of Christian evangelicals and a strong concern -number one in the exit polls- over so-called "moral issues." Nowadays, one of the most common questions in policy-making is "What would Jesus do?"
It is widely believed that the reason why Europeans are much less religious is the existence of established churches, supported by the state, while the disestablishment of religion in the United States infused it with market-like competition and vitality. But there's another reason: in Europe, unlike the United States for much of the 20th century, religion was clearly associated with the conservative side of the political spectrum, while anti-clericalism was deeply ingrained among leftists. In the United States, however, religion was useful for both sides (anti-abortion and civil rights, for starters), and a connection between religiosity and party affiliation was much less marked. However, with the emergence of the Moral Majority, the Christian right, the huge rate of churchgoers that vote Republican, and the socially conservative stance of the Republican party, an association is clearly emerging. But by closely siding with one camp, religion risks alienating the other. Thus, one could safely predict that the number of atheists, agnostics, and non-religious Americans will increase, and grow from the single digits to the double digits.
It already has. Many surveys are beginning to confirm this, indicating more assertive secularism in political attitudes, and an increase in the number of people declaring themselves non-religious, doubling from 7 percent to 14 percent in less than 10 years. This percentage is much higher among young people, and the trend is expected to continue. For the first time in a while, there's a battery of best-selling books openly hostile towards organized religion, the impact of religion on politics, and even belief in God. Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion," Daniel Dennet's "Breaking the Spell," and Sam Harris' "The End of Faith" normally get mentioned together as the recently-published opus of a trio of in-your-face neo-atheists. Kevin Phillips' "American Theocracy" appeals to liberal readers who believe in God but disagree with how religion is shaping public policy. In a new book, Stephen Prothero points out that Americans, especially the younger generations, are religious illiterates. And finally, Christopher Hitchens' "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" went straight to the number one of best-sellers' lists. It is hard not to notice that these days, the comedian/pundit Bill Maher's frequent comments against religion on television, get more applause than derision. Recently, the Atlantic Monthly echoed this trend and stated that, as backlash to the ascendancy of the Christian right, we were witnessing the emergence for the first time of mass secularism in the United States. In the 2006 Congressional elections, despite attempts to appear more pious and pro-religion, Democrats won by gaining a stronger share of the secular vote, while not making any inroads among churchgoers.
One should not expect this trend to turn the United States into France or Sweden, but it does put to test our assumptions about politics and religion in the United States in the near future. In meddling with politics, religion always takes a hit in the long run.
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I agree with you. I think it is important to remember that America is a very young country. I do not agree with hardly anything the US does, but we do need to remember that France, Britian, Germany, Spain, etc. all made these same sorts of mistakes in their past and have had the time to grow up. They usually did it in the 17th and 18th century. The USA is just doing it now.
Great post.
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