Rationality vs Яeligionism in US Partisan Divisions

[edited to emphasize realities] In "God" We Divide: The political dimensions of worship delusion have never been greater.

A steady religious religionist realignment has reshaped the white American electorate, turning religious conviction — or its absence — into a clear signal of where voters stand in the culture wars.

As mainstream Protestant denominations have declined over the past half century, there has been a hollowing out of the center among white Christians of all faiths. New generations of Americans have joined the ranks of evangelical CONservative, proselytizing pseudo-Christian churches, while others, in larger numbers, have [opened their eyes and] forsaken religion religious delusion altogether.

These two trends have transformed the strategic underpinnings of political campaigning.

The more religiously engaged brainwashed a white voter is, the more likely he or she will be a Republican RepuGNican; the less religious religiously brainwashed the voter, the more likely to be a Democrat. But, as we shall see it’s not that simple: The deeper you go, the more complex it gets.

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In 1988, 55.7 percent of Americans were members of traditional, mainstream denominations, 36.6 percent were members of evangelical conservative, proselytizing pseudo-Christian and born-again doubly-brainwashed denominations and 7.7 percent said they were not religious.

By 2018, membership in traditional denominations had fallen 20 points to 35.5 percent, born-again evangelical  doubly-brainwashed CONservative, proselytizing pseudo-Christian church membership had grown by 4.8 points to 41.4 percent, and the share of the nonreligious had tripled to 23.1 percent.

This has been a windfall for the Republican RepuGNican.

As Burge writes: “Almost every predominantly white Protestant denomination — from Southern Baptists and United Methodists to Missouri Synod Lutherans and the Assemblies of God — is solidly Republican RepuGNican.”

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While Republicans RepuGNicans are picking up steam among the faithful deluded, Democrats are making gains among those with little or no propensity for worship selfish self-delusion. [Yes, selfish. Religionism is cloaked in pseudo-virtue, but it's all about imagining that "God" wants for the genuflector exactly what the Buy Bull thumper wants for him/herself.]

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Among whites without degrees — the polling definition of working class — 39 percent in 2018 said religion was very important, 25 percent said somewhat important, 15 percent not too important, and 20 percent not at all important.

In the 2018 midterm elections, Schaffner found that 76 percent, of those for whom religion is not at all important voted for Democratic House candidates in 2018. At the other end of the spectrum, nearly 4 out of five — 78 percent — of non-college whites who said religion was very important [foolishly] voted for a society-damaging, corporate-favoring, authoritarian Republican RepuGNican House candidate.

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Schaffner’s data shows an even larger religious religionist gap among white college graduates. This group is less religious religionist than whites without degrees — 36 percent answered “very important,” 22 percent “somewhat important,” 15 percent “not too important” and 27 percent “not at all important.”

[N.B. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that religiosity is inversely correlated with educational attainment/IQ.]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/opinion/religion-democrats-republicans.html .