Since the beginning of human civilizations, religion has always influenced the politics, policies, and administration of states and governments. The Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Japanese, the Israelites, and the Chinese all used religion in ancient times to justify their own rule, and, in turn, religion affected their policies and their states’ administration. In the modern world, examples of religion’s effect on politics, conservatives in America find support in Christian evangelicals, the United Kingdom’s parliament allots seats to religious leaders automatically, Iran and Afghanistan directly tie government and Islam together, and several political parties in the West openly use Christianity as a talking point.
In more recent events, the United States Supreme Court overruled the longstanding judicial protections for abortion rights, in a move critics say was religiously driven.
The influence of religion on politics is becoming outdated and unfavorable among youth, however. Per an American National Family Life survey, 34 percent of Generation Z either left religion or were never religious. This is a significant increase from just 28 percent of Millennials, 25 percent of Generation X, and only 18 percent of Baby Boomers. Youth as a whole, even religious youth, are rejecting the idea of a government that includes religion in its decision-making.
I surveyed youth aged 14 through 25 in order to gauge two things: the impact of personal religious beliefs on personal political beliefs, and how external factors like family, community, and place of worship impact those beliefs, and how youth view interactions between politics and religion. In addition to those questions, I gathered information about the survey respondents’ race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, age range, and gender. The following article discusses my survey’s findings as well as my analysis, combined with my own input as a religiously active liberal.
Sample Demographics
The immediate findings of my research must be taken from racial, gender, age, and political perspective. Of the responses I received, 38.5% of respondents used he/him pronouns, and 61.5% used she/her pronouns. An additional 7.7% used they/them pronouns, and 3.8% used neopronouns (defined as pronouns outside the current three used most commonly). Overlap in percentages is due to some respondents selecting multiple options.
76.9% of respondents were aged 14-18, with 19-22-year-olds and 23-25-year-olds as the following age groups, with 11.5% of respondents being those ages each. 57.7% of those surveyed were non-Hispanic white alone. 11.5% of the sample identified as Asian alone. 3.8% of respondents identified as Arab/Middle Eastern and Hispanic of any race each. 23.1% of respondents were of mixed race. In terms of religious beliefs, 30.8% were Protestant Christians, and 11.5% were Catholic. 7.7% were Muslim. 3.8% identified as Jewish. One respondent identified themselves as a pagan. 23.1% identified as atheists, and 15.4% were agnostic or spiritual without an established religion.
How Does Religion and Community Affect Political Beliefs?
The majority of respondents said that their family was either somewhat agreeable or totally aligned with their own personal political beliefs. Respondents were divided on whether their own religion would support their political views. Most respondents who said their faith is at odds with their political beliefs were Christians, mainly in the Protestant strain. Interestingly, respondents generally felt that their individual places of worship aligned with their beliefs more than the established religion with which they identified themselves.
Religion played a vital role in the political beliefs and activism of several respondents. A South Asian Muslim respondent said that religious beliefs impacted his political beliefs because Islam is not only a “spiritual religion, it’s sort of [a] political ideology as well.” A teenage white Protestant wrote that she believes it is “God’s plan for [her] is to serve others and the world through politics.” On the opposite side, another teenage white Protestant (in the Episcopal denomination, a form of the Anglican church) called to mind a “difference between the divine higher power and reality” and said that her own political views and opinions are influenced by experience and circumstances rather than a higher power.
How Do Religious and Political Youth Feel About Religion in Politics?
Overwhelmingly, respondents believed politics should not be involved in religion and that religion should not affect politics. As one white agnostic respondent put it, “politics in religion just gives people an excuse to be racist, homophobic, etc., and blame it on their ‘religion’.” A mixed Asian and white atheist wrote that using either politics or religion as a way to exert power was “counterintuitive to their true purposes.”
On the separation of church and state, respondents similarly believed in creating a distinction between religion and government. Respondents derided the current state of the idea of separation of church and state as “only subjectively applied,” “becoming less and less common,” being “blurred,” but said it was a “vital part of America” and “vital for progression.” The Supreme Court recently ruled in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022) that if school employees participate in public prayer at the end of sports games, it is permitted under the Constitution, overruling half a century of precedent under Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971). Many critics argued that if the Christian coach who was praying had been Muslim or Hindu or any minority religion, the Supreme Court would have been hesitant to allow them to pray. Written bluntly, “religion should never be the driving factor in legislation or any judicial decisions.”
In Summary
In the face of radically conservative actions in the judiciaries and legislatures of the United States, the blurring line dividing the church and the state is angering youth. Gen Z is significantly less religious than preceding generations, and yet even the religious members of the generation oppose the connection between church and state. As Generation Z begins to control the electorate by its and its tendency to be politically involved, the Republican tactic of appealing to a white evangelical electorate may fall out of touch with the stark electoral reality.
We can only imagine what role religion will play in a future governed by Generation Z. As my research indicates, religion’s impact on politics will be limited and less powerful than in previous years. However, a complete disappearance of religion will not happen; the social phenomenon that has built civilizations, started wars, brought peace, and changed history. The religious Gen Zers won’t go away, and we must await the role they will play in American politics going forth.