Video: "What's Up with American Religion?"
A political scientist, journalist, and political theorist dig into a very important question
If you haven’t been paying attention, the contours of American religion have been changing drastically over the past several decades. Perhaps nothing illustrates this better than this 2018 chart from political scientist Ryan Burge, on religious affiliation since 1972:
As a share of the American population, evangelical Christians hit a high point of 30 percent in the early 1990s, up from roughly 18 percent in 1972. Approximately 25 years later, evangelicals constituted about 23 percent of the population, and for the first time ever were outpaced by “the nones” as the most prevalent “religious” group in the United States.
These “nones”—defined as atheists, agnostics, and “nothing in particular”—were the focus of a recent conversation between Burge, journalist Kelsey Dallas, and political theorist Jacob Wolf. Interestingly, the “nones” were not meant to the focus, but as the conversation unfolded it became clear that this group was on the minds of these experts for several important reasons.
I moderated the discussion in my capacity as president of Christians in Political Science, a position I will soon be relinquishing after four years of service. Here is the conversation in its entirety — I hope you enjoy it, and learn something in process!