1.0Church Answershttps://churchanswers.comrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="s8ZTQFSs8O"><a href="https://churchanswers.com/blog/we-are-entering-a-new-era-of-american-religion/">We Are Entering a New Era of American Religion</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://churchanswers.com/blog/we-are-entering-a-new-era-of-american-religion/embed/#?secret=s8ZTQFSs8O" width="600" height="338" title="“We Are Entering a New Era of American Religion” — Church Answers" data-secret="s8ZTQFSs8O" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://churchanswers.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> https://churchanswers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Orthodox-church-with-cross-steeple-in-the-light.png1200628When I entered graduate school in the fall of 2005, I knew I wanted to study religion and politics in the United States. The reason for that was simple—I cared deeply about both subjects and knew that if I could combine my passions with academic training and earn an educational credential, I would be in good shape to build a career. But here’s what else I knew: the United States was undergoing an incredibly significant religious transition. The rise of non-religious Americans was happening at a pace that was hard to grasp fully. I believed it would have profound implications for every aspect of society, including politics. I wanted to make it my career goal to describe these shifts and what they could mean for the average person. What I didn’t fully understand back in the late 2010s as I was moving my way through my doctoral program was that it’s hard to make sense of trend lines when they are still moving so quickly. They only really come into clear focus when you have the benefit of a decade or two of hindsight. I remember sitting through graduate seminars and conference meetings where the common theme was the same–the share of Americans with no religious affiliation is going to just keep going up. When someone said that, everyone would nod in agreement. It was just something we ‘knew’ in social science. All the indicators pointed in that direction, and we had no reason to believe otherwise. Well, hindsight is 20/20. What I know now is that the United States went through a period of tremendous religious change that lasted for just about three decades. That period is over, and something new is on the horizon. Let me show you what I mean by visualizing the share of people who claimed no religious affiliation in the General Social Survey between 1972 and 2022.