Why America Is Becoming More Secular
Are you a religious person? If you’re reading this blog, then you probably are, or at least you have an interest in religion, but it may not be long before you are in the minority. America is becoming an increasingly secular nation.
At one time, America was an outlier among industrialized nations in that religion played a significant role in its culture. The majority of Americans were affiliated with a church or some other religious institution. Today, however, America is fast becoming one of the least religious nations among the world’s technologically advanced countries. Only about 7 percent of Americans identified themselves as having no religious affiliation in 2007, but that number had swelled to almost 30 percent by 2022.
Why are people in America turning away from religion? Why is church attendance in decline all across our country? For those of us who think that healthy religion plays a critical role in human affairs, finding answers to these kinds of questions may help us to understand, and then address with greater sensitivity, the skeptical mindset that an ever-growing number of Americans have toward religion.
Since the dawn of time, people have attributed to God or the gods that which they could not understand. Natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, and eclipses were all thought to be triggered by the supernatural. Even diseases, accidental deaths, good fortune or misfortune were signs of divine involvement. The earth was thought to be the center of the universe, with all other celestial bodies rotating around it.
With the advent of science, belief in the supernatural, which had been accepted for millennia as responsible for the unexplainable, began to give way to rational explanations. No longer was God—or the gods—necessary to fill the gaps of human ignorance. Science gave logical and convincing arguments that no longer required the direct intervention of a divine being. Scientific breakthroughs in medicine, technology, the understanding of the cosmos and so many other areas have cured diseases, transformed the economy, improved the quality of life, and explained the origin of the universe without recourse to God. Over time, as people began to embrace science, God was pushed further and further to the margins of everyday life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The brilliant German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer realized, as far back as the 1930s, that scientific progress was making God seemingly less relevant in the modern world. Bonhoeffer, of course, was a deeply committed Christian but was concerned that many in the religious community had taken a wrong turn by attacking scientific discoveries instead of embracing proven insights that could make the world a much better place. By condemning science and dismissing evidence that didn’t align with their narrow understanding of Scripture, many believers were placed in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between religion and science. With growing scientific achievements, however, more and more people gradually began to turn away from religion to a more scientific world-view.
But science is not the only reason why Americans have turned away from religion. Politics, too, has played a significant role in the decline of religious commitment. Throughout American history people of faith have traditionally been deeply suspicious of any political ideology that equated itself with God. In the last few decades, however, that suspicion has given way to a coupling of religion with politics. In today’s brave new world, religious fervor often accompanies political rallies as candidates are hailed as God’s anointed.
This symbiotic relationship between politics and religion has deeply divided the religious community. As history has repeatedly shown, whenever one group of people boasts of having a closer relationship with God than another, a spiritual Dark Age ensues. No one group or person has a privileged position with God that is above others. A religious community that engages in partisan politics may attract like-minded folks but the attraction will be politics, not God.
When politics attempts to fill the spiritual emptiness within, people are left with a fallible ideology that not only alienates countless numbers of people, but also comes dangerously close to manufacturing a false god, a pseudo-deity who promises everything but delivers little. Whenever any political candidate or party invokes the name of God to justify their partisan position, political discourse is distorted and healthy religion is severely compromised.
I believe a healthy religious commitment is crucial for a well-adjusted life. Yet, I am appreciative and in awe of scientific progress. Many of us enjoy much better lives because of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to science. But even science cannot replace the void that only God can fill. Science has opened our eyes to an amazing universe, filled with awe-inspiring wonders, and challenged religious thinkers and theologians to provide new wine skins to replace the old, brittle wine skins that have sometimes proven inadequate for the modern age.
The writings of the Old and New Testaments show that the understanding of God has always been a work in progress. Scripture is certainly not static, but reveals fresh understandings of God to each generation. Authentic religious faith has, in its best moments, sought new approaches to express the ineffable ways of God. During his time on earth, Jesus predicted that God’s Spirit would continue to open our hearts to the incomprehensible bigness of God (Jn. 16:13; 21:25).
Politics can be so intoxicating! When I was pastor of a rather large church in the Dallas area, I tried to stay clear of endorsing a particular party or candidate. One day a candidate for the U.S. Senate called me and asked to speak in our church. I respectfully declined his request, even though I agreed with many of his positions. I explained to him that in my faith tradition the separation of church and state was a bedrock principle. Whenever the church gets in bed with the state, I shared with him, both church and state become illegitimate.
It may be that the emptiness, the loneliness, and the sense of meaninglessness and hopelessness that so many people in America feel, are the products of a religious community that has lost confidence in God. Human beings have a spiritual dimension and when that part of life falls through the cracks, for whatever reason, the result is a deep hole of anxiety and despair that can’t be filled with substitute gods.
Next week, I will write about why I think religion is important, and why neither science nor politics can satisfy the human longing for God.
