Religion and Coherence

There have been a number of interesting shifts in religious demographics in recent years: the apparent halt in the rise of the “nones,” the increased interest in religion among Gen Z, and the narrowing of the so-called “God Gap” between the sexes, as men have started to take a greater interest in religion than women. But this piece highlights one other interesting trend: religion is “becoming an elite marker in America.” Those who are well-educated, or those who are socially well-off, are now tending to be more religious than their less schooled counterparts, contrary to typical presuppositions.

Indeed, that’s data that counteracts a long-standing cultural myth: that smart people give up on or see through the need for religion and uneducated ones stick with it, either from a kind of necessity or just out of mere stupidity. But in fact religious belief has never been for unscientific or dumb people – a point that may seem obvious to those who have long been committed to it as a sturdy intellectual ballast. Rather, religion has often been the means for lots of people to think well and coherently about complex and deep questions, whether having to do with the nature of reality and humanity, the means to securing the best ethical and political bases for a just society, or the way to advancing the work of the natural sciences more rationally and robustly. 

Even so, such data is useful for busting through that myth. The study shows a nascent embrace of religion by scientists, particularly, with one set of longitudinal research revealing “that scientists in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and India are often more religious than the general public.” “They view science and religion as overlapping or independent spheres,” the article notes, “not enemies.” And in the “technological heartland of secular America,” a similar pivot can be felt: leading innovators, such as Pat Gelsinger and Elon Musk, are becoming more and more open in their embrace of Christianity. “People who may be doing well also want something more,” noted one priest who ministers in the area. “There’s a real search for the truth beyond tech.” It’s perhaps no surprise that there would be a return to religion as an avenue for finding it.