Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life

As enmity for the other party grows, elites are less willing to work with members across the aisle, leading to gridlock.
Partisans at the elite and grassroots levels adopt more divisive rhetoric, which feeds cross-partisan distrust and scorn.
These patterns have spillover effects in churches and other religious organizations. Although ideological views and
theological views need not overlap, many theological conservatives are also politically conservative, even as those with more
modernist or liberal theological views tend toward more progressive politics. Some of the negative effects of party polarization
seem to be reflected across theological divides—in some circles, theological conservatives and liberals mistrust or even have
contempt for one another.
AN INCREASINGLY POLARIZED CULTURE
As American politics have grown increasingly polarized, the public is growing divided in other ways. 26
One growing trend is that liberals and conservatives increasingly live in different places. Neighborhoods, cities, and even
entire states are growing more and more ideologically distinct in what journalist Bill Bishop describes as “the big sort.” 27
Many people have choices about where to live, and, if so, they opt to reside in states, cities, and even neighborhoods that
reflect their values. People are also more and more unlikely to marry someone who aligns with a different party. The result is
that increasing numbers of Americans are surrounded only by people who share their ideological views.
Studies also demonstrate the prevalence of “confirmation bias.” People naturally seek out and interpret things in ways that
confirm what they already believe, and they naturally look for exceptions and problems with arguments they don’t like.
Voters are increasingly willing to overlook facts that go against their predispositions, even as they are very alert to even minor
discrepancies in the views of their opponents. In an age of polarized media, voters can choose from a wide range of sources
for political information, self-selecting only those outlets that reinforce their ideological and partisan views.
These trends also affect American Christians. Liberal and conservative Christians likely apply different moral lenses as they
discern the proper relationship between faith and politics and which issues to prioritize. Although some congregations are
politically diverse, many Christians choose to worship in churches that seem to align with their political views. In many ways,
Christianity has become polarized and sorted like political elites and voters.
DECLINING PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE
The changing political climate also appears to be affecting public trust. Recent survey data suggest that levels of public trust
and confidence are reaching historic lows.
The Pew Research Center compiled data on political trust from several polling organizations over many decades. In 2019, only
17 percent of respondents said they “trust the government in Washington” always (3 percent) or most of the time (14 percent).
In the 1980s, trust levels hovered between 40 percent and 44 percent. In the 1990s, trust levels declined somewhat, but by the
early 2000s, about a third of Americans again had high levels of trust in government. In the mid-2000s, trust numbers began
to dip again, reaching a record low in 2019. 28
26
See, for example, Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided By Politics and Religion, Vintage, New York, NY, 2012.
Print.
27
Bill Bishop, The Big Sort, Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY, 2008. Print.
28
“Trust and Distrust in America,” Pew Research Center, July 22, 2019, Accessed September 11, 2019. Available at: https://www.people-press.
org/2019/07/22/trust-and-distrust-in-america/.
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