A series explores broad changes in the country's spiritual and social fabric.
In March, The Wall Street Journal and NORC at the University of Chicago published results from a survey with the headline "America Pulls Back From Values That Once Defined It." Given the recent prominence of the Christian right, I was surprised to see in the study that only 39 percent of Americans said that religion was very important to them — a decline from 62 percent in 1998. That's a dramatic shift in a fairly short period, and I wanted to know more. |
I discovered quickly that by nearly every metric — church attendance, levels of atheism, religious affiliation — Americans are less religious than they used to be. But at the same time, we are still much more pious than our peer nations in Western Europe and Asia. A vast majority of Americans still say they believe in God, for example. |
In April, I put out a survey asking readers who had moved away from religion why they had done so, what religious beliefs or rituals they still practiced, and what, if anything, they missed about organized religion. Over 7,000 people responded to the survey in about 24 hours. |
I realized that the response was so robust because many people were experiencing painful moves away from the religions in which they were raised. Additionally, there seemed to be a consensus among the readers I polled that there isn't a lot of room in a secular society to express faith outside of traditional houses of worship. |
As I looked into the shift away from religion in recent decades, those recent political wins by the religious right appeared to be pyrrhic victories. That's because one of the main reasons many Americans have moved away from defining themselves as Christian is the association of the Christian brand with conservative and exclusionary politics. |
Today I am running the last newsletter in the series, which is about the one thing that most secular organizations and clubs have been unable to quite replicate in the United States: a ready-made, supportive community that brings together people from different ages and walks of life. Some people can cobble together a facsimile, but it can be more difficult and takes longer. One reader, Julie Prado, 50, from Washington State wrote to me, "I was raised Pentecostal and went to church three or more times a week, so I desperately miss the community. It was where my friendships came from. I have very few friends now." |
That's the reality for many Americans in this moment. But since we are in a time of rapid religious change, I think we will see new forms of spirituality and community take root. Even though this particular series is over, I will continue to keep track of these new ways of believing and being together and how our readers experience them. |
Correction: Tuesday's Opinion Today newsletter misstated which state Nikki Haley governed. It is South Carolina, not North Carolina. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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