A Gallup analysis released on Friday found the U.S. partisan gap in religious identity is widening.
In an aggregate of five Gallup surveys conducted from May 2021 to May 2023, 26 percent of people who say they have no religious identity “identify or lean towards the Democratic party.” In comparison, the aggregate found that only 11 percent of those who profess no religious identity “identify or lean towards the Republican party.”
“Looked at differently, across the combined 2021-2023 data, equal proportions of Americans identified as Democratic or Democratic-leaning (46%) or Republican or Republican-leaning (46%),” the analysis read. “Yet, the group of Americans who are religious nones split 63% Democratic versus 26% Republican — far different from the population at large.”
Twenty years ago, only 5 percent of Republicans and 7 percent of Democrats cited no religious identification, just a two-point gap. By 2013, those numbers had risen to 6 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of Democrats.
“The key takeaway is the possibility of a spiral or self-fulfilling prophecy effect — the idea that as religion becomes identified with Republican and conservative politicians and positions, it will continue to drive Democrats and liberals away from religion, amplifying the pattern by which Republicans increasingly dominate the group of those who remain religious,” the analysis read.
Other findings in the analysis included Republicans being more likely than Democrats to identify as Protestant at an 18 percent gap.
“By contrast, the percentage of each party identifying as Catholic is roughly equal. Unlike Protestants, Catholics have maintained a roughly stable percentage of the American population over time and, as seen here, have remained largely immune from the partisan divide evident among Protestants and nones,” the analysis continued. “Explanations for this phenomenon are tied up with — among other factors — the impact of immigration on the composition of the Catholic population.”
It doesn't have to, though. In fact, believing in a higher power should make us kinder to others. Republicans taking over religion is their greatest coup so far.
First, treating someone better solely because you are seeking a celestial reward or to avoid the threat of eternal damnation (!=) altruistic or ethical behavior.
Second, there is an inverse relationship between religiosity and altrusim/ethical behavior more generally. You don't see organized groups of atheists collectivising and weaponizing their beliefs in order to persecute other people based on race, sexual identity, or religion.
Lastly, it wasn't Republicans who took over religion. It was a marriage of convenience between two groups who had interests that aligned on the common ground of creating a crypto-fascist, nationalist dictatorship.
How dare you try to shift the blame away from Christianity when the entirety of the modern evangelical movement has been centered around capturing & controlling as many state/local governments as they can in order to wield minority power over national politics.
Turns out that religion is, and always has been the single most useful and predictable control mechanism for priming and justifying atrocities that suit political ends across large populations.
Please grow up, and stop being so naive...
It's not "solely," But it does give you an extra incentive and extra capacity when you're at the end of your resources, and that's a good thing.
Some of the biggest atrocities on earth had nothing to do with religion. If you want the real culprits, it's money and power. Religion is just one of many forms of power to some people. And those people would use something else if not for religion.
So many religious people do good every single day, inspired and organized by religion. When was the last time you donated to humanitarian efforts? Or fed the hungry, volunteered to take in refugees, dug a well to provide clean water, donated education to those without access otherwise, or helped out your neighbors? Unless you're doing that at the same rate as the religious, you have no ground to stand on. And if you were, you'd know better how much religions contribute.
I've contributed to all those things within the past year. Who is the naive one now? The one sitting there feeling superior because of a few talking points? Or the one rolling up their sleeves and doing the work?