Culture wars are always about religion in a sense, and since the 18th century in France and later in England the Left has been more secular, or even anti-religious. It’s obviously true in the US, where conservatives are more religious and many flashpoint issues are over faith; today just 16 per cent of American liberals think religious faith gives them a “great deal” of meaning in life, compared to 62 per cent of “very conservative” Americans. [...]
Liberal politics is by nature optimistic and it’s also more universalistic (because it it is so heavily influenced by Christianity). Conservatives losing their religion is a darker prospect, since conservatism is more pessimistic and more “basic”, in the sense that it is the mindset for the default human existence, a world of threat and danger. [...]
These religious voters have higher social capital, are more trusting, more likely to volunteer and more satisfied with their neighbourhood and with family relationships, all things that correlate with lower prejudice. Since 1992 the share of Americans with no religion has quadrupled, but it has trebled even among conservatives.
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