Perspective 117. Religion in American Politics: On the Rise?
The peculiar evangelical support for Donald Trump, widespread retraction of access to abortion, rising attacks on LGBTQ rights – are we seeing a resurgence of religious influence in the United States?
No. While peculiarities of our system enable a single Senator to block military appointments on religious grounds, this does not reflect a groundswell of support for his position. In fact elections since the reversal of Roe v. Wade have shown the opposite. Tommy Tuberville’s constituency is steadily dwindling.
In perspective, the Pew Institute reports that the percentage of American adults identifying as Christian has declined from 78 percent in 2007 to 63 percent presently. Gallup reports that only a minority of adults in the United States now belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque.
This fits the general pattern in industrialized nations: religious observance declines as modernization advances. The United States has remained more religious than comparable societies, but has experienced the same general trend. This is not a recent observation, but has been noted for some time. And it applies across the board, to evangelical, mainstream, and liberal denominations.
As Nicholas Kristof points out, this reality is not all good news, no matter what one’s political or religious position. Religion has, in its better manifestations, promoted community, compassion, and sound moral principles. Perhaps the decline in formal observance will refocus attention on these core values rather than the callous preaching of some who have discredited religion by attaching it to anti-humanitarian postures.
For example, evangelical rationalization of support for Trump ought to test the faith of anyone who believes that lying, assaulting women, and inciting violence are simply wrong.
Likewise, some religious leaders have contributed to the religious decline by claiming that AIDS, or the 9/11 attack, were God’s punishment for behavior of which they disapprove. As Kristof remarks, God should sue for defamation.
So maybe the decline in formal affiliation is due not only to changes in basic beliefs, but also, or even more so, to the sad spectacle of the misuse of religion by some of its presumed practitioners. If religion means happily letting people die of AIDS, who wants it?
I agree with you and Kristof. As with all human institutions, organized religion has the potential to yield great good, or great harm, and in various manifestations has accomplished both over the centuries.
In my view, it is not particular religions that are at fault in producing ill effects; it is the fundamentalist end of the spectrum of religions in general. We find bigotry and violence arising from extremist Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and even Buddhists, to name a few. As a Reform Jew, I feel much more kinship with the liberal/humanist members of all of these faiths than with the violent, intolerant wing of my own.