Is God an American

Despite the puritan reputation of the American electorate and the brouhaha over the omission of God in the Democratic National Convention Platform, religion in the United States seems to be going through a shift. A Pew research study released this week shows that Protestants whom as recently as 40 years ago made up two thirds of the population, now account for under half. Much of the loss is attributed to the growth of those who identify as atheist or “not religious.” Catholics have maintained their numbers at 22% of the population but this is attributed to immigration and not to the Church maintaining its numbers amongst those already living here. Islam has grown in the U.S. but also due to immigration and robust prison recruitment. Orthodox Judaism has grown, Conservative Judaism is in decline and the Reform maintain their numbers via liberal intermarriage rules and their policy on patrilineal descent which some argue dilutes rather than increases Jewish populace.

This paradigm shift in religious attitudes and the pace at which it is happening offers an interesting view of America. Assimilation and integration of ethnic minorities offers proof of a successful American – democratic project. Freedom of religion and separation of Church and State proves that a multi-cultural society can function peacefully and with tolerance. At the same time, liberal denominations are losing numbers, while the strict orthodoxies are gaining in strength. While more people than ever identify as not religious those who identify as religious tend to be more observant or so it seems. 

History is full with tales of those killed in the name of one religion or another. Even now in an enlightened and modern world we have to contend with extremists who believe they speak for God as they murder, plunder and destroy in His name.

Western culture welcomes all religions while maintaining secular governance. Yet the West in now faced with losing religious moderates as they are being closed out by more doctrinaire theology and I don’t even need to expand on the state of religion in religious based countries. What we are experiencing is the growth of a wider chasm in religious belief and tolerance. There may be an increase of tolerance towards other religions but there is much more intolerance for the non-religious. Previously, many would be proud to identify with a religion on any level; many now feel alienated by the same religions as the more stringent adherents shun upon their moderate or lesser style of observance.

At the same time, religion has become fungible to those on the left. Recently, some gentile bold-faced names have married Jews in famous bi-religious ceremonies. Chelsea Clinton, Anne Hathaway and Drew Barrymore to name a few, have made marrying a Jew become in the words of Tablet Magazine “aspirational” rather than a religious transformation. To some, this might indicate the ultimate success of the Western model; to the religionists it is a call for further isolation.

One thing is for sure; no one belief system holds a monopoly on God any longer. Technology, accessible information and quite frankly, God’s relative silence make any one religion as credible as the next, at least on a purely intellectual level. It leads me to believe that if God had to be a citizen of any country He would choose to be an American, this way everyone can claim Him and He wouldn’t have to reveal any favoritism.