{"id":4926,"date":"2014-05-27T13:38:32","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T18:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/citings\/?p=4926"},"modified":"2015-10-13T13:33:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T18:33:09","slug":"under-god-or-over-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/2014\/05\/27\/under-god-or-over-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Under God or Over It? New Data on Religion and Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy the Boston Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s been a busy time for social facts on religion in American life. First, The Washington Post<\/i> reported new data from the Pew Forum<\/a> suggesting that more Americans would be willing to vote for an atheist president. While the original report<\/a> noted that atheism is still a \u201ctop negative\u201d for voters\u2014with more respondents saying it would make them less likely to vote for a candidate than drug use, political inexperience, or an extramarital affair\u2014there is still some optimism in the fact that this number has declined by 10% since 2007.<\/p>\n

Second, a new report from the Public Religion Research Institute<\/a> found that Americans are still over-reporting their church attendance, moreso in phone than in online surveys. The Huffington Post<\/i>hosted a roundtable<\/a> on the issue, and a take in The Atlantic<\/i><\/a> emphasized the political implications of this data\u2014liberals are more likely to inflate their church attendance than conservatives, and this may be because of negative stereotypes that liberals are \u201canti-religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a journalistic trifecta, all three stories noted research<\/a> from Minnesota sociologists Penny Edgell<\/a>, Joseph Gerteis<\/a>, and TSP\u2019s own Doug Hartmann<\/a> on the continued stigma faced by atheists in American culture. From The Atlantic<\/i>:<\/p>\n

When three University of Minnesota sociologists surveyed American religious attitudes in 2006, they found \u201cnot only that atheists are less accepted than other marginalized groups but also that attitudes toward them have not exhibited the marked increase in acceptance that has characterized views of other racial and religious minorities over the past forty years.\u201d Americans are today more likely to say they would vote for a Muslim or a gay or lesbian for president than an atheist.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Edgell also discussed current trends in church attendance on The Huffington Post and updated her 2006 research in The Washington Post<\/i>:<\/p>\n

A 2006 study by University of Minnesota sociologist Penny Edgell found atheists were the most mistrusted minority in the U.S. Edgell said Tuesday that an updated study based on a 2014 online survey would be released soon. Preliminary results show the mistrust meter hasn\u2019t budged.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite an inclusive trend in what Americans say they look for in a candidate, religious identities are still an important marker of who can lead the flock(s).<\/p>\n

For more on the cultural factors that may be driving these trends, check out this classic TSP feature: The Social Functions of Religion in American Political Culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n