In God we Doubt
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” While the United States was founded on this two-fold principle of freedom of religion and freedom from religion, it did not keep the religious right from gaining influence over public policy during the early years of the Cold War. “Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, and “In God We Trust” became the US official motto in 1956 and has appeared on Treasury notes since 1957. In the 1950s, this trend towards religiosity represented a strategic response to Soviet secularism; however, six decades later, and nearly a quarter century after the fall of the Soviet Union, religion continues to pervade our national politics.
Self-described atheists hardly ever run for Congress, and none has ever actively sought the White House, and the current climate hardly encourages a break from this pattern. According to a 2012 Rasmussen poll, 48 percent of voters rank a candidate’s faith (or lack thereof) as “important to their vote.” Given that 64 percent of Americans believe in Jesus Christ’s resurrection, according to another Rasmussen poll, professions of atheism and agnosticism would put most candidates at a distinct political disadvantage. Many candidates even avoid the topic of evolution, as nearly half of Americans claim belief in intelligent design.
Judeo-Christian norms and institutions are deeply entrenched at the state and national level. The religious right has successfully kept gay conversion ‘therapy’ legal in forty-eight states and same-sex marriage illegal in thirty-six. The oath of office for the Vice President, members of the House, Senate, and executive Cabinet, and all military officers and federal employees except the President often concludes with the words, “So help me God.” Congress has made a mockery of our First Amendment and violated its mandate by establishing a legislative framework that favors Judeo-Christian institutions. Somewhat paradoxically, despite this religious framework, cultural attitudes towards abortion, same sex marriage, women’s equality, and the role of science in classrooms are moving rapidly to the left.
According to Pew Research, 16.1 percent of Americans now list their religious preference as ‘none,’ an all-time high. This growing secularity is starting to influence public policy outcomes on both national and state levels. According to a CBS News Poll, 55 percent of Americans now support legalizing same-sex marriage. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, allowing gay couples to access federal tax benefits available to heterosexual couples. All of the fourteen states that have legalized gay marriage did so in the last nine years.
Similar liberalization has occurred in the realm of women’s rights. According to a recent CNN/ORC poll, 79 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or some circumstances. As more women began to enter the workforce and traditional family values began to erode, issues of gender discrimination rose to national prominence. The gender gap in wages – estimated for a woman to be seventy-seven cents to a man’s dollar by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research – stems from domestic norms of a patriarchal family structure that finds its roots in religion, but politicians are taking steps to address this disparity. In 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which banned gender pay discrimination and eased entry into the workforce for women.
The influence of intelligent design in education is also waning. The 2005 Dover ruling banned teaching intelligent design in Pennsylvania’s public school science classrooms. Gallup found that 61 percent of Americans now believe evolution should be taught in public schools, compared to 54 percent who believe schools should teach creationism. While these data point to an overlap between people who believe in evolution and intelligent design, they also show that Americans are still very much divided over the appropriate role of religion in the classroom. According to Pew Research, 25 percent of youths today identify as religiously unaffiliated, the highest percentage in any age group; teaching evolution as the primary theory of biological development is likely partially responsible for the trend towards secularity.
If the rise of atheism and agnosticism continues, perhaps belief in God will not be a prerequisite for public office. Perhaps the word “God” will disappear from our currency, national anthem, oath for public office, and national motto. While religion maintains a strong grip on the American legal and political system, new legislation surrounding abortion, same-sex marriage, women in the workforce, and evolving attitudes on the role of science in public education suggest that this hold is slipping away.