Editing Secularization (section)

===United States===

'''1870–1930'''. Christian Smith examined the secularization of American public life between 1870 and 1930. He noted that in 1870 a Protestant establishment thoroughly dominated American culture and its public institutions. By the turn of the 20th century, however, [[positivism]] had displaced the [[Baconian method]] (which had hitherto bolstered [[natural theology]]) and higher education had been thoroughly secularized. In the 1910s "[[legal realism]]" gained prominence, de-emphasizing the religious basis for [[law]]. That same decade publishing houses emerged that were independent of the Protestant establishment. During the 1920s secularization extended into popular culture and mass public education ceased to be under Protestant cultural influence. Although the general public was still highly religious during this time period, by 1930 the old Protestant establishment was in "shambles".<ref>Smith, Christian. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IbEwDwAAQBAJ&dq=info:paCf6RiVs7IJ:scholar.google.com/&pg=PR7 ''The Secular Revolution: Powers, Interests, and Conflicts in the Secularization of American Public Life''] (2012) pp.25-28</ref>

Key to understanding the secularization, Smith argues, was the rise of an elite intellectual class skeptical of religious orthodoxies and influenced by the European [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] tradition. They consciously sought to displace a Protestant establishment they saw as standing in their way.<ref>Smith, Christian. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IbEwDwAAQBAJ&dq=info:paCf6RiVs7IJ:scholar.google.com/&pg=PR7 The Secular Revolution: Powers, Interests, and Conflicts in the Secularization of American Public Life] (2012) pp.32-43</ref>

'''2000–2021'''. Annual [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] polls from 2008 through 2015 showed that the fraction of Americans who did not identify with any particular religion steadily rose from 14.6% in 2008 to 19.6% in 2015. At the same time, the fraction of Americans identifying as [[Christianity in the United States|Christians]] sank from 80.1% to 69% in 2021.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/187955/percentage-christians-drifting-down-high.aspx|title=Percentage of Christians in U.S. Drifting Down, but Still High|last=Inc.|first=Gallup|work=Gallup.com|access-date=2018-09-03|language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> In December 2021 ~21% of Americans declared no religious identity or preference.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/224642/2017-update-americans-religion.aspx|title=2017 Update on Americans and Religion|last=Inc.|first=Gallup|work=Gallup.com|access-date=2018-09-03|language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Inc|first=Gallup|date=2021-12-23|title=How Religious Are Americans?|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/358364/religious-americans.aspx|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Gallup.com|language=en}}</ref> Given that non-Christian religions stayed roughly the same (at about 5-7% from 2008 to 2021) secularization thus seems to have affected primarily Christians.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

However, researchers argue that being unaffiliated does not automatically mean objectively nonreligious<ref>Frank Newport, ''God is Alive and Well: The Future of Religion in America''. Simon and Schuster (2013). pp 14-15. "All of this points to a simple conclusion: When Americans answer the "what is your religion" question by saying "none," it doesn't necessarily mean that they are devoid of religiousness. A "none" response could also mean that the respondents simply don't belong to a formal religious organization, group, or denomination. Or it could mean that they don't choose to label themselves with the name of a formal religious organization, group, or denomination. The "none" in these instances reflects how the respondents wanted to view themselves or how they chose to express their religion, not necessarily an absence of religiousness.</ref><ref name="Unaff Yet Rel" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hout |first1=Michael |last2=Fischer |first2=Claude S. |title=Explaining Why More Americans Have No Religious Preference: Political Backlash and Generational Succession, 1987-2012 |journal=Sociological Science |date=13 October 2014 |volume=1 |pages=423–447 |doi=10.15195/v1.a24|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Hout 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Hout |first1=Michael |title=American Religion, All or Nothing at All |journal=Contexts |date=November 2017 |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=78–80 |doi=10.1177/1536504217742401|s2cid=67327797 |doi-access=free }}</ref> since most of the unaffiliated do still hold some religious and spiritual beliefs.<ref name="Unaff Yet Rel">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Todd |last2=Zurlo |first2=Gina |editor1-last=Cipriani |editor1-first=Roberto |editor2-last=Garelli |editor2-first=Franco |title=Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion: Volume 7: Sociology of Atheism |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004317536 |pages=56–60 |chapter=Unaffiliated, Yet Religious: A Methodological and Demographic Analysis}}</ref><ref name="Choosing our Religion: The Spiritua">{{cite book |last1=Drescher |first1=Elizabeth |title=Choosing our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America's Nones |date=2016 |location=New York |isbn=9780199341221}}</ref> For example, 72% of American unaffiliated or "Nones" believe in God or a Higher Power.<ref>{{cite web |title=Key findings about Americans' belief in God |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/25/key-findings-about-americans-belief-in-god/ |website=Pew Research Center |date=April 25, 2018}}</ref> The "None" response is more of an indicator for lacking affiliation than an active measure for irreligiosity, and a majority of the "Nones" can either be conventionally religious or "spiritual".<ref>Frank Newport, ''God is Alive and Well: The Future of Religion in America''. Simon and Schuster (2013). pp 14-15.</ref><ref name="Unaff Yet Rel" /><ref name="Choosing our Religion: The Spiritua"/>