In his book, When Time Shall Be No More, historian Paul Boyer writes, “surveys show that one-third to one-half [of Americans] believe that the future can be interpreted from “Gospel” prophecies. To me, this is a very admirable view.
I didn’t find that fact, but I do see a lot of similar views. I read a cross-cultural study a few years ago – I recall it published in the UK – which compared the landscape of society in terms of such Beliefs. What is happening in the US stands out – a unique case in an industrialized world. The standards held in the US are similar to those of pre-industrial societies.
Why so?
That’s an interesting question. American society is a very fundamentalist society. Iran is no different in terms of the level of passionate religious commitment. I think 75% of the US population has a literal belief in the devil.
Several years ago, there was a survey on evolution. People were asked what they thought about the various theories regarding the formation of the living world. The number of people who believe in Darwinian evolution is less than 10%. About half of the population believes in the Church’s Doctrine of God-guided evolution. Meanwhile, most of the rest believe that the world was created thousands of years ago.
This is an unusual result. The reasons the US should stop this debate have been discussed and debated for some time.
Perhaps ten or fifteen years ago, I had read the writings of a political scientist, Walter Dean Burnham, on this subject. He suggests that this may be a reflection of depoliticization—that is, the inability to participate meaningfully in the political arena can have significant psychological effects.
It’s not something impossible. People will look for several ways to identify with themselves, connect with others, and participate in something. They will do that one way or another. If they have no choice but to participate in trade unions or political organizations, they will look for other methods. Religious fundamentalism is a classic example.
We see similar things happening in many other areas of the world today. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is, to a significant degree, the result of the collapse of a secular nationalist alternative that is internally discredited or destroyed.
In the 19th century, you can even see the conscious efforts of business leaders to promote preachers who vehemently led people to look at society more passively. The same thing happened in the early days of the industrial revolution in England.
In his classic The Making of the English Working Class, E.P. Thompson wrote about it.
In a speech, Clinton said, “We can’t renew our country unless many of us—I mean, all of us—will join the church.” What is your opinion? I’m not sure what Clinton had in mind, but his ideology was very clear. When people dedicate themselves to activities outside the public arena, people in power will do things the way they want.