Americans may be more religious than their peers in other Western countries, but they have their limits when it comes to mixing religion and public life. According to a new survey conducted by Pew, a 38% plurality of Americans for the first time say there’s too much expression of faith in politics. That figure has increased dramatically in the last decade, especially in the last two years, and currently includes almost half of Democrats and independents. Even roughly a quarter of Republicans, up from 8% in 2001, feel the same way. Part of this can be explained by the rise of the “nones”–Americans who do not identify with any particular faith or who consider themselves atheists and agnostics–a bloc that has grown considerably in recent years, from 12% of the population in the 1990s to 19% last year. Fully a third of young people now count themselves as unaffiliated, and young “nones” nearly doubled between 2006 and 2011, according to political scientists Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In an article appearing in the March-April 2012 issue of Foreign Affairs adapted from their upcoming book, American Grace: How Religion Unites and Divides Us, Putnam and Campbell argue that the growth in the unaffiliateds has been fueled by a backlash against the religious right. There’s some debate whether the “nones” are really abandoning spirituality–most still believe in God but don’t claim ties to any organized religion–and whether culture warriors, secular indoctrination at elite institutions (as some conservatives dubiously argue) or pop evangelists (see Ross Douthat) are to blame. But whatever the cause, the political implications of this bloc are plain: Unaffiliateds don’t like religious sermonizing in the public square. According to Pew, 66% of “nones” think the government is too involved in dictating morality; 70% think abortion should be legal in all or most cases; and 71% think homosexuality should be accepted by society. (PHOTOS: How Mississippi’s Proposal Could Affect Everything from Abortion to the Drinking Age) As you might suspect, a majority of the “nones” lean Democratic. But this story is![]()
