Surveying the most recent demographic data, Daniel Cox notes that the U.S. isn’t experiencing so much a decline in faith as a divergence whereby both religious and secular Americans are becoming increasing insular and committed to their respective positions—a consequence in part of the collapse of the once-vast religiously moderate middle:
As more moderately inclined [devotees] leave their faith, religious life becomes increasingly defined by the most ardent and committed believers. This then further alienates those on the fringe. But this is not the only cause of America’s growing religious polarization.
A 2017 Gallup analysis shows yawning state-level differences in religiosity, with Mississippi and Vermont representing the most and least religious states, respectively. Fifty-nine percent of Mississippians say religion is very important to them compared to only 21 percent of Vermonters. And the religious divide between these two states is growing larger.
America’s religious polarization is not only the result of there being more nonreligious people, but that many nonreligious Americans have embraced distinctively secular worldviews.
The secular worldview among the nonreligious . . . is increasingly reinforced by the people around them. Today, secular Americans are far more likely to be surrounded by people who share their religious identities; . . . secular Americans are also marrying people whose religious beliefs match their own. A 2021 survey found that more than six in ten (62 percent) secular Americans have a spouse who is also not religious. This represents a profound break from the past.
Read more on American Storylines: https://storylines.substack.com/p/americas-coming-religious-divide