Opinion by E.J. Dionne Jr.: Those who preach a tight link between religion and conservatism are pushing people away.
They and other scholars, including Michael Hout and Claude S. Fischer, offer good evidence that much of the backlash against religion is a pushback against the political right, particularly on issues related to LGBTQ rights and women’s empowerment. The rise of White Christian nationalism has deepened the backlash.Their work might serve as a warning to those who preach a tight link between religion and conservatism — and, especially, Trumpism.
Yet backlash is complicated, as Ruth Braunstein, a professor at the University of Connecticut, suggested in an importantlast year in Sociology of Religion. She pointed to how radicalization among the religious right is draining many conservative evangelical churches of their moderates, prompting further radicalization.
Meanwhile, a large share of those drifting from the old religious institutions are still declining to identify as atheists or agnostic. Sociologists have long noted the growth of those who self-identify as “spiritual but not religious,” but Braunstein sees this group as doing more than embracing vague feelings of transcendence.
But at moments of crisis, people of faith cannot avoid taking a stand. This was true during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, and it is true now in light of the crisis confronting our multiracial and multireligious democracy. Making clear that no party, ideology or faith tradition has a monopoly on God’s blessings would be a good starting point.