Why religion went obsolete : the demise of traditional faith in America / Christian Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Christian, 1960- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church attendance--United States.

Church attendance.

Non-church-affiliated people--United States.

Non-church-affiliated people.

Church membership--United States.

Church membership.

Public worship--United States.

Public worship.

Genre:

Informational works.

Physical Description:

x, 426 pages : illustrations, map, charts ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Demise of traditional faith in America

Place of Publication:

New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The decline of traditional American religion has been well documented. Many books, articles, and reports leave no doubt that a major shift has occurred. There is no need to rehash the details here. Still, a fundamental principle of social science is the need to "establish the phenomenon" before attempting to explain it. So, while the rest of this book will focus on the why, we begin here with the what. What has happened to traditional American religion? What do things look like to religious leaders on the ground? The evidence offers multiple empirical indicators of a larger latent fact about traditional American religion: that it has not only suffered weakening and decline, but has become obsolete-at least among Americans under the age of 50, which is to say, nearly all of America in the not-distant future"-- Provided by publisher.

"Traditional religion in the United States has suffered huge losses in recent decades. The number of Americans identifying as "not religious" has increased remarkably. Religious affiliation, service attendance, and belief in God have declined. More and more people claim to be "spiritual but not religious." Religious organizations have been reeling from revelations of sexual and financial scandals and cover-ups. Public trust in "organized religion" has declined significantly. Crucially, these religious losses are concentrated among younger generations. This means that, barring unlikely religious revivals among youth, the losses will continue and accelerate in time, as less-religious younger Americans replace older more-religious ones and increasingly fewer American children are raised by religious parents. All this is clear. But what is less clear is exactly why this is happening. We know a lot more about the fact that traditional American religion has declined than we do about why this is so. Why Religion Went Obsolete aims to change that. Drawing on survey data and hundreds of interviews, Christian Smith offers a sweeping, multifaceted account of why many Americans have lost faith in traditional religion. An array of large-scale social forces-everything from the end of the Cold War to the rise of the internet to shifting ideas about gender and sexuality-came together to render traditional religion culturally obsolete. For growing numbers of Americans, traditional religion no longer seems useful or relevant. Using quantitative empirical measures of big-picture changes over time as well as exploring the larger cultural environment--the cultural "zeitgeist"--Smith explains why this is the case and what it means for the future. Crucially, he argues, it does not mean a strictly secular future. Rather, Americans' spiritual impulses are being channelled in new and interesting directions."-- Jacket.

Contents:

Introduction

Setting the stage. What needs explaining ; Religion is good when... ; Some complex ways culture changes

Perfect storms converging. Long-term social trends ; The developing religious environment ; The 1990s: beginning of the end ; The 2000s: obsolescence assured ; Religious self-destructions

The aftermath. Contours of the Millennial zeitgeist ; Through the exit doors

Conclusion

Appendix: the changing social locations of religious nones, 1970s-2010s.

I. Setting the stage

What needs explaining. US religious affiliation ; US religious service attendance ; Average age of regular religious service attenders ; Knowing God exists ; The rise of "not religious" Americans ; Identifying as "spiritual but not religious" ; Church closings ; Confidence in religious institutions ; Ratings of clergy honesty and ethical standards ; Are survey measures of religion valid indicators? ; Dispatches from the front by religion leaders ; Conclusion

Religion is good when...

Some complex ways culture changes. Population ecology species decline ; Avalanche science ; Cultural mismatch ; Particulate matter in the atmosphere ; Delayed, nonlinear change ; Adoption of innovation ; Crowding out ; Professional control over expert knowledge ; Conclusion

II. Perfect storms converging

Long-term social trends. Higher education for the masses ; Women entering the paid workforce ; The deinstitutionalization of marriage and family ; Declining participation in face-to-face membership organizations ; Triumphant mass consumerism ; Intensifying expressive individualism ; From materialist to postmaterialist culture ; Rise of emerging adulthood ; Conclusion

The developing religious environment. Mainline Protestant (cultural triumph and) organizational decline ; Catholic organizational weakening ; Moralizing of religion, downplaying transcendence ; The rise of televangelism and the religious right ; The spread of Eastern religions and the New Age movement ; The Ersatz "warfare of science and religion" narrative ; Declining confidence in organized religion ; Obsolescence postponed: institutional momentum and diversion in the 1980s ; Conclusion

The 1990s: Beginning of the end. End of the Cold War ; Ascendant Neoliberalism Capitalism ; The digital revolution ; Pop postmodernism ; Multicultural education ; Millennial geographical mobility to cities ; The rise of intensive parenting ; "Non religious" as an acceptable identity option ; Conclusion

The 2000s: Obsolescence assured. September 11, 2001 ; The new atheism ; A third sexual revolution ; LGBTQ+ mainstreamed ; Religious pluralism and national identity ; Identity politics and the sacralizing of partisan politics ; Crucibles of despair: the war on terror, political polarization, global warming ; The disappearing American dream ; Good without God ; "Spiritual but not religious" ; The continued rise of the religious "nones" ; Conclusion

Religious self-destructions. Religious scandals ; Evangelical mission drift ; Evangelical me-and-God spirituality ; Evangelical Biblicist foundationalist epistemology ; Evangelical purity campaigns ; Denominational culture wars ; Religion as a tool for social control ; Congregational stalwart power-hording boomers ; Conclusion

III. The aftermath

Contours of the millennial zeitgeist. The cultural tenor of successive decades ; Thematic tones of the age ; Toward a formal analytics of the millennial zeitgeist ; Time duration ; Spatial and social scope ; Narrative course ; Characteristic "carrying" groups and media ; Crucial events ; Embodying public figures and celebrities ; Symbolic and artistic expressions ; Styles of attire and presentation of self ; Common slogans ; A caveat ; The defining grunge rock (and mismatched Christian counterparts) ; The zeitgeist in expert advice ; An analytical model of zeitgeist cultural assumptions ; The reality of re-enchantment ; Conclusion: Why the zeitgeist made religion obsolete

Through the exit doors. Religious turn-offs ; Explanations for leaving religion ; Comparing other accounts of disaffiliation ; Three important minority traditions ; Jewish millennials ; Black Protestant millennials ; Mormon Millennials ; Conclusion

Conclusion: Damned if it do, damned if it don't ; Not by secularization alone ; And the future?

Appendix: The changing social locations of religious Nones, 1970s-2010s.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 385-419) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Smith, Christian, 1960-. Why religion went obsolete

ISBN:

9780197800737

0197800734

OCLC:

1453070868