Abstract
The First Amendment to the United States’ Constitution addresses freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. However, the historical influence of religion in laws, policies, and political representation have left secular individuals feeling excluded. At the same time, levels of confidence in social and political institutions in the United States are at an all-time low. This begs the question: Is there a relationship between secularity and confidence in various social and political institutions (e.g. the armed forces, churches, major companies, government, police, and political parties)? This question is examined using data on the United States from the World Values Survey from 1995–2011. While controlling for a range of key demographics, the findings show a negative relationship between secularity and institutional confidence. More specifically, atheists and nonreligious individuals are less likely than those who are religious to have confidence in all six institutions. Based on previous literature and the empirical evidence presented in this study, we argue that overall lower levels of institutional confidence among secular Americans is an outcome of the exclusion of such individuals from American social life. Thus, it highlights the importance of addressing the stereotypes and prejudice that this minority group faces.
Highlights
The relationship between church and state has long been a contentious issue in the United States
After churches and the armed forces, the largest difference in confidence between religious and secular Americans are for the police and the government (6.2 percentage points)
As secular respondents overall have lower levels of confidence in the institutions in the study, and with a majority of such differences being statistically significant, these findings offer support for our hypothesis that secular Americans are less confident in social institutions compared to those who are religious
Summary
The relationship between church and state has long been a contentious issue in the United States. Previous studies have argued that despite the constitutional separation, religious ideology pervades social and political institutions (Corbin, 2012; Friedenburg, 2002; Smidt, 2007; Steinfels, 2007). While the First Amendment to the United States’ Constitution protects freedom of religion and denotes a separation of church and state, the historical influence of religion in laws, social policy, and political representation have left nonreligious individuals feeling excluded (Gresock, 2001). As a result of such social exclusion, this study examines whether atheists and nonreligious Americans, compared to those who identify as religious, have lower levels of confidence in institutions in the United States. Since confidence in major social institutions is a crucial measure of a successful democracy (André, 2014; Inglehart, 1999; Newton & Norris, 1999), the results of this investigation can provide a better understanding of the importance of interreligious respect and awareness that incorporates the nonreligious
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