End of white Christian America?

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[FONT=&quot][h=1]We're at the end of white Christian America. What will that mean?[/h]


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After accounting for eight out of 10 Americans in 1976, white Christians are now a minority, a study has found. The political implications could be profound
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]A[/FONT]merica is a Christian nation: this much has always been a political axiom, especially for conservatives. Even someone as godless and immoral as the 45th president feels the need to pay lip service to the idea. On the Christian Broadcasting Network last year, he summarized his own theological position with the phrase: “God is the ultimate.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And in the conservative mind, American Christianity has long been hitched to whiteness. The right learned, over the second half of the 20th century, to talk about this connection using abstractions like “Judeo-Christian values”, alongside coded racial talk, to let voters know which side they were on.

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[FONT=&quot]But change is afoot, and US demographics are morphing with potentially far-reaching consequences. Last week, in a report entitled America’s Changing Religious Identity, the nonpartisan research organization Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) concluded that white Christians were now a minority in the US population.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Soon, white people as a whole will be, too.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The survey is no ordinary one. It was based on a huge sample of 101,000 Americans from all 50 states, and concluded that just 43% of the population were white Christians. To put that in perspective, in 1976, eight in 10 Americans were identified as such, and a full 55% were white Protestants. Even as recently as 1996, white Christians were two-thirds of the population.


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[FONT=&quot]White Christianity was always rooted in the nation’s history, demographics and culture. Among North America’s earliest and most revered white settlers were Puritan Protestants.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As well as expecting the return of Christ, they sought to mould a pious community which embodied their goals of moral and ecclesiastical purity. They also nurtured a lurid demonology, and hunted and burned supposed witches in their midst. These tendencies – to millennialism, theocracy and scapegoating – have frequently recurred in America’s white Christian culture.
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[FONT=&quot]Successive waves of religious revival, beginning in the 18th century, shaped the nation’s politics and its sense of itself. In the 1730s, the preacher Jonathan Edwards sought not only the personal conversion of his listeners, but to bring about Christ’s reign on Earth through an increased influence in the colonies.


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[FONT=&quot]The author of The End of White Christian America, Robert P Jones, says it is “remarkable how fast” the trend is moving. In 2008, white Christians were still 50% of the population, so that “there’s been an 11-point shift since Barack Obama’s election”.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]According to Jones, there are two big reasons for this shift.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]One is “the disaffiliation of young people in particular from Christian churches”. That is, especially among the young, there are proportionally fewer Christians. If trends continue, that means that there will be fewer and fewer Christians.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]While two-thirds of seniors are white Christians, only around a quarter of people 18-29 are. To varying degrees, this has affected almost every Christian denomination – and nearly four in 10 young Americans have no religious affiliation at all.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The “youngest” faiths in America – those with the largest proportion of young adherents – are non-Christian: Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. This reflects the second big driver of white Christian decline: both America and its family of faiths are becoming less white.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The big picture is the steady erosion of America’s white majority. Due mostly to Asian and Hispanic immigration, and the consolidation of already established immigrant populations, white people will be a minority by 2042. This will be true of under-18s as soon as 2023. According to Pew’s projections, in the century between 1965 and 2065, white people will have gone from 85% of the population to 46%.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Perhaps inevitably, this is being reflected in a more diverse religious landscape.[/FONT]




[FONT=&quot]In a two-party system, the overwhelming whiteness of the Republican party has seen Democrats “following the trends, and becoming more diverse”. Democrats are heavily favored by black and Hispanic Americans, including Hispanic Catholics, by young people, and by the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For years, these trends have produced optimism among Democrats – their coalition appears to resemble America’s future, whereas the Republicans appear mired in the past, with a shrinking base. Even Republicans have been growing alarmed: the famous “autopsy” document produced by Reince Priebus’s RNC in the wake of Mitt Romney’s defeat urged the party to reach out to Latinos with, among other things, meaningful immigration reform.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A glance at the present, however, shows Republicans in charge of Congress, the presidency, and a majority of statehouses, and Trump looking to implement the stridently anti-immigrant, Christian right-friendly platform he was elected on.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Turner says that in the short term, changing demography will not necessarily guarantee election results: “For a long time people have been saying that the marriage of Republican politics to white Christians was a losing game, but it wasn’t last year.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And it bears saying that nothing guarantees that Latinos, African Americans, or other non-white groups in America will remain loyal Democrats. White Christianity is not an immutable category. After all, white Catholics and Mormons – formerly the targets of Protestant persecution – have themselves become a part of the white Christian coalition.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Last week John Judis, previously a leading advocate of “demography is destiny” predictions about an emerging Democratic majority, recanted, remarking: “Whiteness is not a genetic category, after all; it is a social and political construct that relies on perception and prejudice. A century ago, Irish, Italians, and Jews were not seen as white.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Jones, though, thinks that even if the trends aren’t decisive in the short term, “sooner or later these demographic realities will show up” in national elections. He adds: “We need to remember how close the 2016 election was.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He says “there is a lag”, but by 2024 the changes will have become electorally decisive, and for Republicans the problem will increasingly be that “when one part of your base is so large and vocal, it becomes hard to pivot”.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Republicans’ white Christian base in large part wants to slow immigration or even halt it altogether – but it may be that that ship has sailed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If Republicans cannot change, they may find that the country has changed around them.[/FONT]
 

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Yes... we need the US to be a Muslim country.

Name MUSLIM run countries that are full of violence, despair and not tolerance for gays, free speech, womens equality and such... Now do the same for white christian run countries...
 

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Throughout its history, The Guardian has always been a left-wing publication as they have stated in various articles.

In review, story selection favors the left. They utilize emotionally loaded headlines such as “The cashless society is a con – and big finance is behind it” and “Trump back-pedals on Russian meddling remarks after outcry”. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation.

Overall, we rate The Guardian Left-Center biased based on story selection that favors the left.

(No wonder you didnt print the source and link to the article)
 

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Throughout its history, The Guardian has always been a left-wing publication as they have stated in various articles.

In review, story selection favors the left. They utilize emotionally loaded headlines such as “The cashless society is a con – and big finance is behind it” and “Trump back-pedals on Russian meddling remarks after outcry”. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation.

Overall, we rate The Guardian Left-Center biased based on story selection that favors the left.

(No wonder you didnt print the source and link to the article)

If he printed where he got the article, what difference would it make? It's largely accurate in that demography will alter the political landscape for years to come. The only thing I disagree with is some of the cause/effect analysis in the article. But demography changing politics has been happening for decades now.

R2P may be a rabble-rouser but his basic premise isn't wrong.
 

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If he printed where he got the article, what difference would it make? It's largely accurate in that demography will alter the political landscape for years to come. The only thing I disagree with is some of the cause/effect analysis in the article. But demography changing politics has been happening for decades now.

R2P may be a rabble-rouser but his basic premise isn't wrong.

But, if you notice, its quite racist, and points out "White" in such context, to make it seem like "White" is an enemy, and this happening should be the call for celebration!
 

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But, if you notice, its quite racist, and points out "White" in such context, to make it seem like "White" is an enemy, and this happening should be the call for celebration!

Yes, it is cheerleading and celebration of demographic change. This is common in democratic punditry circles. It's referred to as the ascending coalition. I'm not really sure how sustainable this strategy is for a political party. I tend to think "not very", just seems like a huge bubble to cater to the tribalism of various factions rather than uniting principles. Also, one thing none of these articles ever point out is that all of this demographic change was policy driven, it wasn't some organic manifestation that just sprung out of nowhere. It was intentional and calculated yet all of these articles come with some form of "Ohh gee, times are a changin' in the ol USA." Yeah, thanks to policy.

But the changes will have an effect on politics in the future. You can't really have the type of mass migration we've had for 50 years now and not see ripple effects.
 

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Merry Christmas America !cheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgifcheersgif
 
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The day you see the end to white Christian America (I throw the Jews into this category) you can say goodbye to the America that is still the greatest country in the history of mankind.
 

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The death of white Christian America any time soon is greatly exaggerated.
 

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The death of white Christian America any time soon is greatly exaggerated.

In what sense? The white population is declining by 3% every election cycle. (I'm not too interested in religious affiliations so don't really focus on that part when looking at the issue)

It is possible that today's Hispanics eventually just identify as white similar to how the Irish/Italians did so after a 2-3 generations. I don't buy that argument, but it is possible. To have assimilation, the migration needs to be measured and done in moderation. Otherwise you just get various groups clustering together and tribalism.

It's hard to predict the future of politics/culture/society/etc, I don't really think this is going to give the Dems the moat they believe it will. It's just hard for a political party to hold power too long in a 2 party system even with demographic advantages. Eventually some of those voters will boomerang to Republicans. But it's hard to believe they're ever going to be Jeffersonian in their thinking of how gov't should function, every poll on their attitude towards government shows this. They come from authoritarian countries and they basically like that, they just want a little more benevolence.

Reagan once said something to the effect of "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don't know it yet"

Yeah, don't think so bro.
 

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boomerang not the correct term. More like siphon.

But the point is parties don't stay static in their beliefs/who represents them over time.
 

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In what sense? The white population is declining by 3% every election cycle. (I'm not too interested in religious affiliations so don't really focus on that part when looking at the issue)

It is possible that today's Hispanics eventually just identify as white similar to how the Irish/Italians did so after a 2-3 generations. I don't buy that argument, but it is possible. To have assimilation, the migration needs to be measured and done in moderation. Otherwise you just get various groups clustering together and tribalism.

It's hard to predict the future of politics/culture/society/etc, I don't really think this is going to give the Dems the moat they believe it will. It's just hard for a political party to hold power too long in a 2 party system even with demographic advantages. Eventually some of those voters will boomerang to Republicans. But it's hard to believe they're ever going to be Jeffersonian in their thinking of how gov't should function, every poll on their attitude towards government shows this. They come from authoritarian countries and they basically like that, they just want a little more benevolence.

Reagan once said something to the effect of "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don't know it yet"

Yeah, don't think so bro.

Why would they assimilate and diversify politically? It didn't happen in California.

Not that these demographic changes ultimately matter. Once politicians start seriously encroaching on the values traditional Americans cherish, it will be CWII...especially when it comes to the 1st and 2nd Amendments.

People WILL fight, no matter what a Congress full of Ocasio-Cortezes have to say about it.
 

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Why would they assimilate and diversify politically? It didn't happen in California.

Not that these demographic changes ultimately matter politically. Once politicians start seriously encroaching on the values traditional Americans hold true, it will be CWII...especially the 1st and 2nd Amendments.

People WILL fight, no matter what the "new majority" has to say about it.

Ya, I don't think they will. When I say I think some of these people will vote Republican, it's with the caveat that the Republican party will just become more liberal (which is already happening now, see Rubio/Ivanka little social security/paid leave stunt that would make even Ocasio-Cortez blush)

Dunno about civil war, these people have been pretty crafty about changing the country via incrementalism so far. The slower the bleed, the harder it is for people to wake up to it. 1A-2A would likely be a bridge too far though.

Dems will have their own problems as well, like I say in post #8. Having all those coalitions that are so loosely tied together doesn't seem sustainable. Maybe the entire political landscape is a bubble waiting to explode? Or maybe it'll be a slow burn...
 

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All the articles about "Demography is destiny" just focus on the future results for the two parties. All of them. But they never focus on the actual policy ramifications. Probably because turning into a 3rd world country is not a great platform to sell or even a subject anyone wants to broach, no matter who is selling it.
 

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In what sense? The white population is declining by 3% every election cycle. (I'm not too interested in religious affiliations so don't really focus on that part when looking at the issue)

It is possible that today's Hispanics eventually just identify as white similar to how the Irish/Italians did so after a 2-3 generations. I don't buy that argument, but it is possible. To have assimilation, the migration needs to be measured and done in moderation. Otherwise you just get various groups clustering together and tribalism.

It's hard to predict the future of politics/culture/society/etc, I don't really think this is going to give the Dems the moat they believe it will. It's just hard for a political party to hold power too long in a 2 party system even with demographic advantages. Eventually some of those voters will boomerang to Republicans. But it's hard to believe they're ever going to be Jeffersonian in their thinking of how gov't should function, every poll on their attitude towards government shows this. They come from authoritarian countries and they basically like that, they just want a little more benevolence.

Reagan once said something to the effect of "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don't know it yet"

Yeah, don't think so bro.
According to Gallup...
In 2008 80.3% of Americans claimed to be Christian. 5.3% non Christain. 14.6% No religion.
In 2015 75.2% of Americans claimed to be Christian. 5.4% non Christian. 19.6% No religion.

Assuming a 1.5% drop every year it will be 2034 before we reach a 50% split.

For me the encouraging news is the "No religion" group is rising. Now I don't care if religion
plays an important part of someone's life and it doesn't matter which religion it is but I'm not
a fan of religion period.

To me like anything else, if man created it, it was for devious reasons. So if it's slowly falling
out of fancy I don't see that as a bad thing.

I'm guessing the OP was suggesting it's a fight between Christians vs Muslims when it's really
between religion vs non religion.

Thus the death of white Christian America any time soon is greatly exaggerated.
 

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And also I live in Hispanic central, not a bad as LA but none the less. The majority are your average working stiffs
who are just trying to get along and live life to the fullest. Do they tend to vote Dem? You bet but most service
industry workers do.
 

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According to Gallup...
In 2008 80.3% of Americans claimed to be Christian. 5.3% non Christain. 14.6% No religion.
In 2015 75.2% of Americans claimed to be Christian. 5.4% non Christian. 19.6% No religion.

Assuming a 1.5% drop every year it will be 2034 before we reach a 50% split.

For me the encouraging news is the "No religion" group is rising. Now I don't care if religion
plays an important part of someone's life and it doesn't matter which religion it is but I'm not
a fan of religion period.

To me like anything else, if man created it, it was for devious reasons. So if it's slowly falling
out of fancy I don't see that as a bad thing.

I'm guessing the OP was suggesting it's a fight between Christians vs Muslims when it's really
between religion vs non religion.

Thus the death of white Christian America any time soon is greatly exaggerated.

My posts weren't about religion, they were focused on race/ethnic makeup and the political/cultural/societal/economic ramifications of that.

I don't see the battle as secular vs religious, as I share the same views on religion as you do.
 

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And also I live in Hispanic central, not a bad as LA but none the less. The majority are your average working stiffs
who are just trying to get along and live life to the fullest. Do they tend to vote Dem? You bet but most service
industry workers do.

Yeah, most are good hard working people. No doubt.

They just favor big government and are going to rally around tribalism. Poll after poll shows they're more in favor of policies the Dems would be likely to champion. California wouldn't be what it is today without decades of mass migration. Luckily for them, they can get away with bad policies more than most as they have 800 miles of pristine shoreline and it is 72 degrees everyday. A nice moat to have. New Jersey? Not so lucky.
 

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