We often assume that however things are going, so they will continue to go. This assumption is strongest when the dynamic in question is part of the struggle between modernity and tradition.
Secularization is such a trend: presumed to be, well, secular, in the sense that it is not seen as cyclical.
The secular-materialist mind sees religion as something that fills the gaps in human knowledge. It also sees human knowledge as ever-expanding, thus shrinking the gaps and shrinking the “need” for religion.
The antireligious personality sees religion as a source of bigotry, and it also sees humans as steadily marching toward progress and toleration.
Meanwhile, the religious conservative, being a conservative and thus dour, tends to think things just get worse in this world and keep getting worse.
But there’s some evidence to the contrary. The religious folk might be wrong about religion in America, and the humanists might be wrong about the arc of history.
The collapse in American Christianity appears to have halted — and maybe even reversed. The Pew Research Center last month unveiled its massive Religious Landscape Study and found that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christians. This is way down from the 78% in 2007, but it is up from the 60% in recent years.
If this is to be believed, 2022 was the nadir of American Christianity. Maybe the lockdowns showed some of us the inadequacy of the individual and the futility of the material world. Maybe the dissembling and inept public health establishment revealed science as a false God. Whatever the case, people seemed to, maybe, reverse their march away from Christianity.
POLITICO PRO AND THE SWAMP ECONOMY
Yet it’s far too early to declare this a full reversal, especially when you look at the age cohorts. Young people are still far less Christian than middle-aged and elderly people. Among young adults, those aged 18-24, only 46% identify as Christians, and young Christians are less likely than older Christians to attend church regularly.
The question is will these young secularists stay secular? Will the young Christians stay out of church? Or will something about growing up — say, facing death, marriage, and parenthood — move them toward God? And will this swing toward Christianity somehow, against the odds, persist?
