America Is In The Midst Of A Religious Cold War, Which Best Explains Our Divides

Before, during and after Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance one thing has become clear: America is divided like never before. Before the debate, the condescending accusation from progressives and media allies was that conservatives were wrongly hyping Joe Biden’s mental acuity issues. Conservatives replayed multiple videos (including press pool videos) to show Joe Biden’s clear mental decline.

The White House, Democrats, and media gaslighted, like the Hunter Biden laptop scandal gaslighting, and claimed the videos were “cheap fakes”, and disinformation. Then came the debate. Most conservatives thought Biden did as well as we expected. Progressives and media allies, meanwhile feigned shock. Then came the new gaslighting agenda: Media and Dems had not covered up Biden’s mental state the past few years yet were suddenly worried about his mental competence for the Presidency. Biden supporters had, unfortunately, bought the pre-debate propaganda about Biden’s mental state and gave him the primary. It is clear the two groups, progressives and conservatives have become so divided they live in different realities. What new polling data suggests is that the real division is over religion, and all else follows the growing religious divide.

In 2024, Pew Research Center published poll results showing the alignment of deep political division with the deepening religious gulf. This religious change coming fast, as a whopping 80% of Americans now believe religion’s role in American life is shrinking. Two decades ago that number was only 50%. More importantly in terms of the divide, while 57% of Americans believe that the influence of religion on America is a good thing, the remaining secular Americans were in diametrical disagreement and believed religious influence was a bad thing. 

In terms of the division between religion and a culture (culture now being primarily influenced by the non-religious), 48% of Americans now believe there’s a great deal (or at least some) conflict between religion and mainstream culture. 

This number increased 6% in just the past four years. The number of Americans who believe their religious beliefs make them a “religious” minority is up 5% in four years. Astoundingly, in just the past five years the percent of Americans claiming it is best not to discuss religion if someone may disagree is up a whopping 8%. The percent of Christians who believe the non-religious “have gone too far in trying to control religion in the government and schools” is now at almost two thirds (63%). Yet despite this data evidencing the massive and increasing marginalization of the religious, 72% of the non-religious claim Christians have gone too far with “their” control in the public arena.

The religious/secularist growing divide is directly aligned by political party. Pew polled the religious question by political party in 2024 and found 84% of atheist registered voters are Democrat versus 13% Republican. It found 78% of the agnostic registered voters are Democrat versus 21% Republican. Religiously unaffiliated came in at at 70% Democrat and 28% Republican. Protestants are 59% Republican versus 38% Democrat (note: Evangelicals are overwhelmingly Republican). Catholics, who were previously majority Democrat, are now only 44% Democrat and 52% Republican.

Almost two thirds (62%) of regular churchgoers are Republican. It’s important to note that only a few decades ago the parties were nearly the same in terms of religion.

When it comes to political issues like abortion, the divide follows the same pattern. Conservatives are much more pro-life and Democrats far more pro-abortion. After the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, giving the issue of abortion back to the states, the pro-abortion left attacked dozens of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers in retaliation. The Department of Justice under Biden virtually ignored these attacks by the left and prosecuted pro-lifers who had committed (pre-Dobbs) trespassing-type violations with felonies under the FACE Act. Under the FACE Act, Christian activists face over a decade in prison. Meanwhile, in one of the sole DOJ prosecutions against pro-abortion radicals, the defendant faced only a misdemeanor despite a FACE Act violation. In terms of religion, pro-abortion radicals spray paint “Abort God” on Christian crisis pregnancy centers during attacks.

We have also seen the rising use of the term “Christian Nationalist” by the secular left in attempts to further politically marginalize religion. Politico reporter Heidi Przbyla, for example, recently wrote that belief in the concept of God-given rights is Christian nationalism. This, despite the American Declaration making clear “we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights”. Meanwhile Rob Reiner’s anti-religion film “God and Country” seeks to stigmatize any influence of religion in politics as being part of dreaded Christian nationalism.  Many of the recent attacks against Heritage’s 2025 plan follow this same secularist fear-mongering attempts to marginalize religion by crying Christian nationalism.

It’s time for religious Americans to recognize the battle we face: The Religious Cold War. What we see with divides, including over acknowledgement of Biden’s mental state are aligned with and part of the religious divide. The non-religious seek to end the previous influence of religion on America, despite the Majority of Americans seeing it as a positive good. Despite the track record of religion in the rise of America. We are either one nation under God, or we are a nation gone under. The choice is ours.