Less than half of Americans belong to a house of worship, a new study shows, but religion – and especially Christianity – still has an extraordinary influence in American politics, especially as it is declining faster among Democrats than Republicans .
Only 47% of the U.S. population are members of a church, mosque or synagogue, according to a Gallup poll, compared to 70% two decades ago – in part because of millennials who deviated from religion, but also according to experts. reaction. to the swirling mix of right-wing politics and Christianity pursued by the Republican Party.
The evidence comes because Republicans in some states have pursued extreme ‘Christian nationalist’ policies and tried to impose their version of Christianity on an increasingly interested public.
This week, the governor of Arkansas signed a law allowing doctors to refuse to treat LGBTQ people on religious grounds, and other states are investigating similar legislation.
Gallup began asking Americans in 1937 about their church membership – and for decades the number was always above 70%. It started to change in 2000, and the number has been steadily declining ever since.
Some of the decline is due to changing generations, with about 66% of the people born before 1946 still being members of a church, compared to only 36% of the millennials.
Among the other groups Gallup reported, the decline in church membership is falling among self-identified Democrats and independents. The number of democratic church members decreased by 25% during the twenty years, and independents decreased by 18%. Republican church members also declined, but only by 12%.
David Campbell, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, said that one reason for the decline among these groups is political – an ‘allergic reaction on the religious right ‘”.
“Many Americans – especially young people – view religion as bound by political conservatism, and specifically the Republican Party,” Campbell said.
‘Since it’s not their party or their politics, they do not want to identify themselves as religious. Young people in particular are allergic to the perception that many – but by no means all – American religions are hostile to LGBTQ rights. ”
Research by Campbell shows that a growing number of Americans have deviated from religion because politicians – especially Republicans – have mixed religion with their politics. Campbell says there has always been a decline in U.S. adherence to religion, but he believes the current decline is likely to continue.
‘I see no sign that religious law and Christian nationalism are fading. “Which in turn indicates that the allergic reaction will still be seen – and therefore more and more Americans will turn away from religion,” he said.
According to Michele Margolis, associate professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and author of From Politics to the Pews, the number of people identifying themselves as non-religious has been steadily increasing in recent decades. More than 20% of all Americans are classified as ‘none,’ Margolis said, and more than a third of Americans are under 30.
“This means that non-identification will become a larger part of the population over time, as the replacement of cohorts is still taking place,” says Margolis. But she agreed that another factor is the addition of the right wing to politics with theism.
“Since religion is closed to conservative politics, Democrats have chosen us not to vote for organized religion, or to be less involved, and Republicans have opted for that,” she said.
Christian nationalists – who believe that America was founded and should remain a Christian country – have pushed for a series of measures to turn their version of religion into American life.
In states including Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, Republicans have enacted legislation that would challenge different LGBTQ rights, reproduction rights, the ability of couples to adopt children, and religion in classrooms.
The governor of Arkansas recently signed a bill that would allow medical workers to refuse to treat LGBTQ people on religious grounds. Montana intends to pass a law that allows people or businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQ community on the basis of religion.
“Do not let me NOT do what my God tells me to do,” said Republican Montana Congressman John Fuller, a proponent of the law.
Alison Gill, vice president of jurisprudence and policy among American atheists, who wrote a report on the creep of Christian extremism in the U.S., warned that the decline in religious observance in America could actually accelerate the effort, rather than slow it down . .
“Surveys of those who identify with Christian nationalist beliefs consistently show that this group feels more discriminated against and marginalized than any other group in society, including Islamists, blacks, atheists, [and] “Jewish people,” Gill said.
‘They experience their loss of prominence in American culture as an unacceptable attack on their beliefs – and this drives much of the efforts we see to cling to power, undermine democracy and fight for’ religious freedom ‘. “which applies only to them.”
The influence of religion on politics is strong, Gill said.
‘America considers itself a predominantly religious society, even if the facts no longer agree. “Politicians often feel that they are expressing their religious beliefs – and are being attacked for a perceived lack of it,” she said.
While the danger of a right-wing setback is real, Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said the Gallup data suggests the US is moving in a positive direction.
‘We have this constitutional separation of church and state in America, and our constitution is ungodly, and it says that you can not have a religious test for public office, and yet you must practically carry religion on your sleeve to be elected . , ”Gaylor said.
‘There is movement [away from religion], and we are just delighted to see it. We think it’s great that Americans are finally waking up. ”