1. Secularization

2. How Do We Know Who To Trust? We used to just assume that authorities were right because they tended to say “Cause God said so” We used to just assume that authorities were right because they tended to say “Cause God said so” Appeals to “divine authority” have lost credibility Appeals to “divine authority” have lost credibility People don’t go to priests and mullahs now. They go to sociologists (macro) and psychologists (micro) for answers. People don’t go to priests and mullahs now. They go to sociologists (macro) and psychologists (micro) for answers.

3. “Secularism” “Religious interpretations of reality and religious orientations have yielded to explanations/justifications for human behavior made in scientific and rational terms” “Religious interpretations of reality and religious orientations have yielded to explanations/justifications for human behavior made in scientific and rational terms” Eventually? A totally religious society? Eventually? A totally religious society? Belief In Life After Death? 75% Belief That Jesus Is A Diety? 75% Belief in God? 90% Claim Membership In Religious Org? 90% Pray To God? 90% Belief In Hell? 50% Nah!

4. Did The U.S. Have Its Own “Age Of Faith”? Year % Religious Adherence* 2008 Barack Obama Elected 66% 2000 George Bush Elected 68% 1992 Bill Clinton Elected 70% 1980 Ronald Reagan Elected 62% 1969 Moon Landing 62% 1957 “Leave It To Beaver” On TV 60% 1930 Great Depression 56% 1914 World War I 53% 1861 Civil War 37% 1776 Signing Of Declaration 17% * Various sources including Gallup, Statistical Abstracts, Adherents.Com, Finke and Stark’s Churching Of America

5. Changes In Influence? EducationPolityMediaMarketHousingLawLeisureFamilyReligion Religionization Religion Influences Institutions EducationPolityMediaMarketHousingLawLeisureFamily Cultural Secularization Religion Is Equal To Other Institutions Religious Secularization Institutions Influence Religion Religion

6. Another Way To See This? “Loss Of Religious Authority” EducationPolityMediaMarketHousingLawLeisureFamilyReligion Institutional Secularization Laicization Loss of authority over other institutions Organizational Secularizaton Internal Secularization Loss of authority over religious orgs Individual Secularization Religious Disinvolvement Loss of authority over individuals and congregants Religionization Religions Maintain Authority Everywhere PolityEducationLawLeisureHousingMarketMediaFamily

7. Civil Religion Also called “religion-in-general” and “religion of the republic” Also called “religion-in-general” and “religion of the republic” Americans share common religious characteristics (beliefs, symbols, sacred places, rituals, holydays, martyrs) and a sense of our nation’s sacredness Americans share common religious characteristics (beliefs, symbols, sacred places, rituals, holydays, martyrs) and a sense of our nation’s sacredness We’re “one nation under God”, “in God we trust”, we ask that “God Bless America”, our “eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”, and we’re “endowed by God with certain unalienable rights”. We pray to God in moments of crisis, transition, memory, and thanksgiving We celebrate God’s (?) birth and death/resurrection as national holidays. While no American president mentions Christ in his inaugural address, ALL of them mention “God” “The same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” JFK 1961 But Is The American Version Of Civil Religion Truly “Secular”?