I grew up in a small city in Texas. Almost everyone I knew went to church somewhere, usually some version of an evangelical church. 

Currently, many Americans who self-identify as “evangelical” aren’t a part of a traditionally evangelical church. “Evangelical” doesn’t necessarily describe where you go to church, or even if you go to church at all.

In fact, more than one-fifth of Americans who want the United States to officially be a “Christian nation” are secular or belong to a non-Christian faith. In 21^st century America, “Christian” is more a cultural and political identity, rather than a religious one.

In the wake of this evolution, the terms “Christian” and “nationalism” have married. Characteristic of this marriage is an idealized version of history – that our nation was better, more moral, more diligent in the past. 

Other societies and cultures have idealized the past. Societies that idealize the past have many things in common, including support of “strong man” style leaders and a return to a “law and order” approach to society. 

There’s a lot to unpack here, but I want to focus on another characteristic of cultures that idealize the past: anti-intellectualism that often manifests as anti-science attitudes. 

Christian nationalism, as well as a belief that the Bible is historically and scientifically literally true, tracks with a greater tendency to believe conspiracy theories. Both groups track with anti-vaccine attitudes. 

White evangelicals were the religious demographic most resistant to a COVID vaccine, and also the most resistant to masking and social distancing.

And it didn’t stop with COVID. Already we are seeing state legislatures considering rollbacks of childhood vaccine requirements for school children. 

Look just below the surface of disputes about “science and religion” and you will see that they are primarily conflicts about moral and cultural order. 

Read more in The God of Monkey Science: People of Faith in a Modern Scientific World – available now for preorder!