The Unexpected Rise of Secularity in the United States 1990-2008

For two centuries two distinct historic traditions and visions of the nation have striven for hegemony over the American body politic and American society –a Secular Republic and a Christian Nation. It is now fashionable to criticize the secularization thesis by pointing to the resurgence of religion and religious conflict in the contemporary world. Though the rhetoric of American politics and public life did indeed change after 1976 and there was more “God talk”, the actual situation in law and on the ground in society has not mirrored this change. This situation reflects the logjam created by a divided “50-50, red/blue nation” where the intellectual elite, and much of the business elite, do not subscribe to the agenda of the religious right. In fact in the course of the “culture war” the reversals suffered by traditional religion and its claims have been manifold. There has been a measurable decline in religiosity among the public and also in religion’s influence and impact on the economic and social spheres in the U.S.