Secular Life in Post-Christian America
Less than five years after Christian America's greatest political achievement -- the reelection of George W. Bush in 2004 -- Newsweek magazine announces "The Decline and Fall of Christian America" on its April 13 cover. The issue's lead article is "The End of Christian America" by Jon Meacham.
These stories, and there have been many, begin with the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey that was released in March. That survey showed a rapid increase in secularization in America, doubling since 1990 and a drop in all kinds of religious affiliation. That report brought into sharp focus changes that, in retrospect, were obvious.
But, actually, the story is both less and more momentous than the headline. It is less momentous because even with the doubling of secularists since 1990, only 15% of respondents in ARIS identified as secular. That means that America is still a very religious country and even a very Christian one. Nor will that change any time soon. (Meacham acknowledges this in the article.)
The story is more momentous, however, because growing secularization at some point reaches a cultural tipping point. At that point, and for the first time, large numbers of people begin to reach adulthood without religious training.
Of course there have always been atheists, in America and everywhere. But until recently, almost all atheists have been grounded in traditional religious teaching. They have been in the position of the Atheist relative in Woody Allen's film, Crimes and Misdemeanors, arguing against God at the family Seder. This is true as well of the leading atheist writers of today. They have all been shaped by religion.
In the near future, this will cease to be true. Today, we are still a Judeo-Christian culture with a sizeable secular representation. Tomorrow, we will become a secular culture with a sizeable Judeo-Christian representation.
This is not likely to mean that other religious traditions will step into the cultural vacuum. Interest in Buddhism, for example, has been spurred by religiously trained Christians and Jews who are looking for something else. That Buddhist growth may lessen in a secular culture.
As I have argued on this blog and in my book Hallowed Secularism, the easy assumption that secular culture will be healthy without religion may prove to be false. Secularists have an unwarranted confidence in themselves and in a new cultural formation. In contrast, I think raising children without religion is quite difficult.
Let me take a specific example. Daniel Dennett came to the New School in New York City in March and told an audience that they should all repeat to defenders of religion that "people can be good without religion." Dennett presumably exults in the decline of Christianity.
But religion by and large does not claim that it makes people good. Instead, religion, and especially Christianity, begins with the proclamation that people are not good. We lie, we cheat, we steal, we cheat on our spouses and we allow a billion people in the world to live on a dollar a day.
Which is more realistic about human nature, Dennett or the classic Christian view? And what, and for that matter how, will you teach your children the truth about such matters?
Undoubtedly, the decline of religion is inevitable in a scientific culture. Something, however, must replace religion's wisdom and insight. I assume that whatever that something turns out to be, it will have to borrow from the best of what religion has to offer if it wants to be successful in promoting human flourishing.
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I personally didn't have any trouble teaching my children ethical behavior without religion. I see a lot more bad behavior among believers than among non-believers. Choosing right over wrong works best if it comes from within, not without.
Bruce, I disagree with you. First, the answer to your question is Humanism. A secular view with ethics and morals as a foundation.
And I totally disagree it is difficult to raise children without religion. That idea is what makes parents around the world brainwash their kids to follow their religion. You can raise successful kids like I did by talking to them and by leading by example. My grown kids are both atheists, and are much better behaved than kids raised with religion.
I do agree that the world is becoming more secular: thank God, or Zeus or the Flying Spaghetti monster!
i agree.
I for one am Buddhist- but used to live in the Netherlands. And almost everyone I knew was secular. They didn't seem to have a problem raising decent, moral, caring children. I don't really understand how it's hard raising children without religion.
The countries with the least crime, poverty, and social ills (Scandanavia, the Netherlands) are also the most secular. Same with the U.S. New England has the lowest crime rate and the highest rate of secularism. The deep south and midwest has the highest crime rate and is the most religious.
And at the very least, I think it has been shown that religion is certainly not a prerequisite for morality.
Religion has been a destructive force on our planet. I hope it goes away.
It won't go away. It ebbs and flows. As the secular world shows that it has no answers religion will flourish again.
That's an absolutely clueless comment; humans ARE progressing away from religion, and unless we lose all technology and are cast backwards, religion as a longterm proposition is utterly DOOMED to fail and disappear.
FEAR OF DEATH is the only concept that gives religion any real power in the human mind, and eventually we will learn to neutralize that mental flaw so completely that children reading history will wonder how anyone could see such a horribly manipulative and self-loathing influence as inspirational.
And my only regret about that is that it's unlikely to happen during my lifetime.
How about we replace the sometimes-accidentally-advantageous accretions of myth-based dogmatic strictures with a consciously created set of rational guidelines to purposefully create the kind of world we want to live in? Is that so hard?
Yes, it is so hard.
Probably won't be easy but it's the way to go.
So you want to make a new religion? Unfortunately, I think trying to set any type of guidelines is pretty destructive. Maybe anarchy is the way to go? Or maybe the new set of rules will be better then the current ones? Who knows...
From the point of view of an American not currently involved in religion, it doesn't seem like there is much religious wisdom and insight guiding those who are involved. In fact, I think you could make the case that the combination of the dominate American religion, Christianity, and the political party of the rich has been a bad deal for both of them. Instead of being just the party of the rich, the Republicans also became the party of war and torture with Christianity at their back. On the other side of the coin, Christianity became more a religion of the rich under Republican influence. It seems Christianity is still in denial about what they have done. After they deal with these political gremlins, then we can go on to the next discussion of if religion has a better or worse understanding of God than science does.
I am a Christian and do not support torture or the Republican party.
What do you think about American christianity?
David Brooks had an interesting Op-Ed piece the other day (holy cow!) "The End of Philosophy" where he discusses the book "Human by Michael Gazzangia. He said, "Today, many psychologists, cognitive scientists and even philosophers embrace a different view of morality. In this view, moral thinking is more like aesthetics. As we look around the world, we are constantly evaluating what we see. Seeing and evaluating are not two separate processes. They are linked and basically simultaneous."
He also says it's a little bit about survival... "It’s also about cooperation within groups. Like bees, humans have long lived or died based on their ability to divide labor, help each other and stand together in the face of common threats. Many of our moral emotions and intuitions reflect that history. We don’t just care about our individual rights, or even the rights of other individuals. We also care about loyalty, respect, traditions, religions. We are all the descendents of successful cooperators."
You can read more at NYTimes.com, I think it's the beginning of the answer to your question about the displacement of religion.
Sorry, I'm not buying it. Margaret Thatcher said that there's no such thing as society. =0)
A new picture of America:
Mr. Obama is calling the United States specifically not a Christian nor Jewish Country but a country of citizens!
He is purposely setting out to redefine America. He is denying our roots and he is denying the Spiritual influences that inspired our constitution and our judicial system. It seems he is bent on trying to make us more acceptable to those of the Islamic faith which in and of itself is absurd. The fundamentalist Islamic position is clear – all non-believers in Allah are infidels and are their enemy.
The danger is this – Obama is painting a new picture of America. He has 4 to 8 years to do it.
Contrary to all of his pre election promises he is doing it with all the insider, Wall Street connected, lobbyist, and labor and union henchmen that he said have been running Washington too long! He promised change but instead he is multiplying the power of influence of the elitist left. While it may be too early to say the picture is all wrong – the first strokes and color choices portend a new America that is unrecognizable.
"Mr. Obama is calling the United States specifically not a Christian nor Jewish Country but a country of citizens! "
Yes, he said what another radical in a different time said, I believe at the treaty of Tripoli. I may be paraphrasing: "America was not founded on Christianity" That would have been that radical atheist by the name of George Washington. Really, an inconsequential patriot of the time, so feel free to ignore him. I'm sure there were more important patriots who proclaimed the opposite.Please tell me who they are?
Religious freedom is "meant to comprehend within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohometan, the Hindoo and infidel of every denomination". --Thomas Jefferson.
Hey daryl,
Our President is not redefining America. Religious influence is waning in this country, because of the ties of some "religious" people with politics. Often they are revealed as hypocrites. No, the Republicans and those Christians who aligned with a political party have done much to discredit Christianity. I am a Christian, but not a supporter of torture or the Republican party.
a nation should be defined as "a multitude of rational beings in common agreement as the the objects of their love" --Saint Augustine.
"the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion..."
The line from the Treaty of Tripoli, 1797. Instigated under the Washington Administration and ratified by the Senate under the Adams Administration. I have a feeling Senators actually read legislation put before them back then.
What's missing from the comments here is a total lack of respect for a differing view. Religion helps a lot of people in their day to day lives. Why must you call it 'stupid' and 'superstitious'? Can anyone of you prove a god does not exist? For liberals who claim to be open-minded, you shred anyone who offers a different point of view. It's easy...I respect you, you respect me, things get done. As for the article, I don't think that the country needs something to replace the faltering religious influence. It's a personal matter and people of all faiths, even non-believers, can be raised into productive members of society.
i agree and am so thankful that there is someone else who feels the same way. it was pretty scary reading somethings on here. its funny how to them you MUST accept all things liberal without question or dissent, but the one thing, the one thing mind you that is based on love, tolerance, forgiveness and redemption is torn apart. It is a sad state of affairs when people want that way of life to be cut out of our culture. I do not believe that Chrisitanity is dead and it will never be, but I know it will always be the wishful thought of many here. God has enriched my life, made me concious of others and taught me patience and a better person all around. I know that people are going to make the "so many have died over religion" argument, but there are so many beliefs out there that people have died over like slavery, civil rights, revolutions, and so on. you cannot tell me that those were not worthy causes, i just dont know why you pick this as the issue you must be the most close-minded and vicious on when its the one issue that has made so many happy and saved so many from their deepest darkest hour.
yawn, you're the one insisting on your propriety...
Unfortunately, religion does not simply promote love, tolerance, forgiveness, and redemption. It has a dark side. You should try actually reading the Bible sometime. Pay attention to the parts where God commands his followers to commit unspeakable atrocities in his name. They're not hard to find.
If religion were purely a force for good in the world, secularists wouldn't have much problem with it. Well, except that its foundational claims are completely unverifiable and its positive results could well be attributed to any number of other things, such as community, stability, etc. But since religion's negative aspects are so relentlessly awful and well-documented, from needless personal guilt to holy wars, the world is clearly better off without it. Those who draw some comfort from it can just as easily draw comfort from any kind of supporting socializing.
Spiritually-inspired values [which are arguably at the core of most religions] are not torn apart at all; what you are speaking of is organized religion, and that is indeed attacked [and rightly so]. There is absolutely NOTHING that even seems positive in organized religion that isn't somehow connected to efforts of control and manipulation.
But I doubt you can see beyond the alter, so never mind....
I can't prove God doesn't exist, and you can't prove he does. That's why I'm an agnostic.
As for "respect", I respect faith, but that respect stops when the religious inevitably succumb to their urges to force their beliefs on others.
Isaac,
I'm and agnostic (you can't currently prove god does or doesn't exist) and a geologist and I've been insulted personally by conservative christians for both my doubts about the existence of god and my profession. Respect for beliefs is a great thing, but I rarely get it from the other side. Ask a Republican if he or she would vote for an atheist, and I'm sure they would answer no emphatically (opinion polls show this). I have, in fact, been told many of my Republican friends that they would vote for a Christian who is not qualified for public office over an Atheist. Is this tolerance? Is this respect? Hardly.
I would like to see a respect for all opinions be the order of the day, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
"In contrast, I think raising children without religion is quite difficult."
My experience was exactly the opposite. I thought it was doing my son a favor to expose him to Christian teachings, precisely because there as so many proclaimed Christians. I looked at it as a cultural thing. Since the majority religion in my area are Latter Day Saints, we even went to some services there.
I had a heck of a time trying to explain to him why he was going to hell if he didn't believe the catholics, how there could be only "one true prophet" when one was an Arab 1400 years ago and the other was from New York until his followers settled in Utah, why people would worship somebody as a Messiah of the Jews when they weren't Jews and thought Jews were wrong...
You can imagine the rest. My favorite was a Sunday school teacher who had a whole lecture about how you should so "love and fear God" and he asked me why he would love somebody he was afraid of.
What's difficult is raising children by farming out the raising to strangers simply because they claim to be religious.
This is more of the same anti-secular bigotry we usually see from religion. Ledewitz repeats the tired claim that morality comes from religion. Utter bunk. Morality is nothing more than a relatively obvious, simple, and successful survival strategy: If you treat those around you decently, they're more likely to respond in kind. It's not a guarantee, but it ups the odds, and that's how people deal with the world around them, by estimating and managing the odds. Certainly many cheat the system, and most people are tempted, but it just isn't true that people are fundamentally evil, requiring some outside force to keep them in line. Those who treat others fairly will insist on being treated fairly. Morality is a self-governing system. Anarchy is never long tolerated.
Mr. Ledewitz should look at peaceful, post-religious societies like Norway, Japan, and Denmark before he frets the sky is falling. These countries essentially ignore religion, yet they aren't morally rudderless. And I suspect that many more than 15% of Americans identify themselves as religious, without reading the Bible, going to church, or even thinking about it much. Given the rampant anti-secular bigotry in this country, that's not surprising. Religion is the biggest con of all time--that humans need something outside themselves to keep them in line. Nonsense. People do that automatically, because it's in their own long-term best interests. Religion has sold ice cubes to Eskimos. The Eskimos are beginning to wise up.
jay, absolutely true. Human behavior can be summed up in the saying, "A wolf is safe among wolves." We are a mammalian species, and every individual's survival depends on the survival of the group.
Too bad that people aren't as loyal or as kind as wolves. Well some people even shoot wolves from helicoptors.
"Christianity, begins with the proclamation that people are not good"
And those who believe this maxim are the ones slated for the fall. I would argue that if we are not good people created by a good God we would not deserve the redemption offered by Christianity.
The basics of Christianity have changed over time and resulted in hundreds of schisms, sects and practices that have either weathered the changing times or been lost to all but scholars. That the narrow minded doomsday bigotry of end times fanatics and Biblical fundamentalists has reduced the number of believers is regrettable. I however have faith in the message. You are good, God loves you.
C.S. Lewis justified the opposite when he talked about that voice inside that knows right from wrong. To me that always conflicted with the "man is born a sinner" idea.
To me christianity destroys an individual's self confidence (we are all bad) and calls it humility. Then gives it back through a false feeling of superiority to those who don't share their beliefs (which is evidenced by every christian who believes they can 'save' the rest of us). I've spent most of my life feeling bad about myself. When you believe that you are a sinner then everything bad that happens to you becomes your fault. Where's the good in that?
If you have a positive experience with your faith (whatever it may be) than I say good for you. You should follow what is right for you. I have my own personal beliefs that are positive for me, which I don't try to push onto others. To each their own.
Maybe I missed something but I didn't get a sense of how much "religious training " is common to the people who self identify as "Christian." In my experience a number of them have almost no "religious education" other than a sort of superstitious belief in the efficacy of keeping a physical bible and cross around, like mysticaL amulets and rely for their current opinions on the crudest sort of propaganda from the most intrusive television preachers.
without religion who will start crusades or burn witches and heretics?
Don't forget suicide bombers, and random killing in Allah's name......
Or think your self-proclaimed right to a "Holy Land" justifies the world's largest open-air prison in Gaza and the West Bank...
I'm sure that the secular world will take over the burning of witches. They will just have different reasons.
The religious always say that: "If we weren't burning them, you would!"
You have to stand agape at that kind of rationalization...
Religion is merely glorified superstition.
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