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Fuel on the Fire: Has the Politics of COVID-19 Accelerated Secularization in America?

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Title: Fuel on the Fire: Has the Politics of COVID-19 Accelerated Secularization in America?
Authors: Campbell, David E. (AUTHOR), Layman, Geoffrey C. (AUTHOR), Green, John C. (AUTHOR)
Source: Political Behavior. Dec2025, Vol. 47 Issue 4, p1621-1642. 22p.
Subjects: Secularization, COVID-19, Scientists' attitudes, Public health, Faith, Democrats (United States), Government policy, Vaccines
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: Politics increasingly shapes Americans' social orientations, including their religious affiliations and levels of religiosity. Less is known about whether politics affects secularism—an affirmative embrace of secular worldviews and identities. Drawing on an original panel survey from 2017 to 2021 plus two survey experiments, this paper investigates whether the political debate over public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically vaccines, has driven greater secularization in the United States. Specifically, has exposure to the public debate over COVID-19 vaccines led more Americans to embrace a secular worldview? Both observational and experimental data suggest that the debate over pandemic policies and attitudes about that debate have increased individuals' secularism. This effect is greatest among Democrats, which we show is related to their greater embrace of pro-science attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Political Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secularization%22">Secularization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19%22">COVID-19</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientists'+attitudes%22">Scientists' attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+health%22">Public health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Faith%22">Faith</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Democrats+%28United+States%29%22">Democrats (United States)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+policy%22">Government policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vaccines%22">Vaccines</searchLink>
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  Data: Politics increasingly shapes Americans' social orientations, including their religious affiliations and levels of religiosity. Less is known about whether politics affects secularism—an affirmative embrace of secular worldviews and identities. Drawing on an original panel survey from 2017 to 2021 plus two survey experiments, this paper investigates whether the political debate over public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically vaccines, has driven greater secularization in the United States. Specifically, has exposure to the public debate over COVID-19 vaccines led more Americans to embrace a secular worldview? Both observational and experimental data suggest that the debate over pandemic policies and attitudes about that debate have increased individuals' secularism. This effect is greatest among Democrats, which we show is related to their greater embrace of pro-science attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Political Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Text: English
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              Text: Dec2025
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